Stay safe when using public WiFi – Video Ti...

When traveling during the holidays or any time, it is extremely important to stay safe when using public wifi (Internet) at airports, coffee shops, hotels, etc. I recently came across a tool called Hotspot Shield that allows you to create a secure and private connection for all your browsing and email. It’s the same type of security that companies use for their employees when out of the office. It’s called VPN...

In-flight Wifi

I’m in route to Chicago to play golf with some buddies and brought along my trusty ASUS Eee PC 901 netbook (currently running Crunchbang Linux). We were supposed to fly out last night, but weather had us delayed until this morning. As we boarded the flight, I was surprised and curious to see a WiFi on Board sticker on the outside of the plane and on all the seats. I knew it wouldn’t be free, but I wanted to try it...

Rick Answers his Email Videocast – 053

The summer has kept me busy and I let a few too many question stack up (remember that you can make a small donation when asking your question to get priority). I answered all the questions you asked the last 2 weeks in these two videos. The first video contains questions from Doris, Henry, Andrew, Jean, John, Rae Ann, Craig, Janet, Maurice, Leo, Ryan, Shirley, Jason, Donna, Jeannie, Dave, and Scott. They asked questions about...

Free & Pay WiFi Hot Spots in Grand Junction, ...

I thought it might be a good idea to make a complete list of open WiFi hotspots in Grand Junction, CO. A WiFi Hotspot is a place where anyone can access wireless Internet for free and without setting up an account or through the use of a pay account. I also added a few pay sites as well. I certainly don’t know all the spots in town, so please help me make this list more complete with your additions by leaving a comment...

Set up a home network – Part I

Home computer networks used to be just for geeks, there was no practical reason to setup a network at home because most people only had one system and the Internet was only accessible through a dial-up connection that couldn?t be shared. Today that has all changed. Computer networks are not only practical but they are also easy to setup and in many cases they are absolutely necessary. Over the next few weeks, we will...

What I learned in the first 4 days of my iPhone 3G

I picked up my new iPhone late on Thursday night, worked with it on Friday, then left with it for a quick trip to see my brother and my first and only nephew. Prior to this phone, I have used some sort of smartphone since 2000…all Palm software based. Prior to that I used Palm handheld computers since about 1997. I decided to move to the iPhone because I felt that the Palm innovation had stagnated…about 5 years...

WiFi is truly becoming ubiquitous

I’ve mentioned before that I think that laptops make a lot of sense for computer users who travel. With a great deal of our communication and information gathering tied up in the computer world, not having this tool when traveling is a definite minus. My family and I just returned from a short trip where having our laptop with us saved us a lot of time and aggravation. While traveling, we used the computer and a wi-fi...

Portability, price and function – why the di...

Amazon announced a new product today that they feel will revolutionize reading. The Kindle is a digital book. Perhaps it is worth $399 plus the price of books to not have to turn pages. Regular books are so difficult and out dated. They don’t take batteries, they don’t break down after extended use, they can be heavy and lets not forget the difficulty of turning pages. The Kindle is a small portable device a...

Canon leaps ahead again in DSLR wars

I have made no secret of the fact that when it comes to digital SLRs I prefer Canon over all other brands. I have also backed up my argument with a long list of reasons. Everytime any other company gets close to Canon, Canon announces a new camera that out paces the competition both in features and price. Canon did it again this week. They have announced two new digital SLRs, both will make any serious photographer...

Easy WiFi with Ubuntu Linux – Video Tip

This week’s tip addresses a rough area with Ubuntu Linux…using wi-fi (wireless) Internet. I have had some of the same problems utilizing wireless Internet as other people, so I set out to learn more about it and find as straight forward a solution as I could. What I found was called WiFi Radar. I wrote about it in Day 3 of my 14 day Ubuntu only series. In today’s tip, I submit to you the video version of...

The missing iPhone disclaimer

I am throwing this into the newsletter this week. But I will post it here because I spent too much time writing it. The Apple iPhone came out this Friday. We have taken the opportunity to write up the disclaimer that should appear on the device, but does not. The Apple iPhone is operated by touch screen only. There are no hard buttons thus it should not be used while driving. Checking messages and dialing requires constant...

Microsoft Sideshow to compete with iPhone

This week the tech world was given a nice surprise as Microsoft and many partners announced the SideShow device. The SideShow is a PDA-like device designed to be used with a Vista PC. While details are still vague and only prototypes have been shown, the SideShow looks like it may prevent many windows users from switching to iPhone. The SideShow is designed to link up to a computer via Bluetooth and it can be used for chat,...

Windows Vista makes networking maddening

I setup a new Windows Vista machine yesterday on a network with two Windows XP systems. My client wanted Vista to be the main computer that shared files and printers with the other two computers. It only took me 45 minutes to figure out how to set it all up. In Windows XP I can setup a network in less than 15 minutes – probably less than 10. One of the first complaints I had early on with Windows XP was that it was...

Is the iPhone another Newton?

For those of you who don't remember the Newton, it was Apple's first and last foray into the handheld computing market back in 1993. Although it was ground breaking and unique, it was a little ahead of its time and definitely too expensive. The Newton was a little too big to be called a true handheld computer and only worked with a heavy, built-in rechargeable battery. Just three short years later, a small company...

Finding Internet Access on the Road – WiFi F...

I recently returned from visiting my Dad in New Mexico. He lives in a small town that doesn't have tons of broadband connections. I tried firing up my wireless laptop at his house, but no luck…no neighbors to poach off of for a few minutes. My Treo 650 was non-functional because my carrier didn't service the town. So where do you turn to when you are striking out with technology? The yellow pages and the...