Being stranded isn’t as bad as it used to be

Driving back from my first client this morning, the guy in the car next to me honked and pointed at the side of my car. Since I couldn't tell what he was talking about, I pulled over hoping that someone had taped a $100 bill to the side of my car. As it turned out, I had a flat tire. I put the space-saver tire on my Civic and headed to the tire repair place. The wait was over an hour and a half, but I was able to get...

Gadgets yield more gadgets

I have helped several people buy new computers lately. I don't sell computers or any other hardware so I am more of a personal shopper than a salesman when it comes to guiding people through their purchase. I think it's funny how gadgets always seem to yield more gadgets. Here is a short flowchart of how this process works. 1. A client calls and says that they need a new computer. They ask my advice on what they...

Know your Internet connection types

Rick has called me a cheater for using my user group notes and product reviews in place of a daily column. So, today I am not only writing an official Shotgun article, but I am also turning it in early. I have seen several clients lately who are using the full priced AOL dial-up service. That means they are paying $25.90 for dial-up Internet. One person even had a seperate line for the Internet (add on another...

Set up a home network – Part IV

This is our final installment of our networking tips. In this tip, you will learn how to share files and printers between computers on your network. One of the greatest advantages of a network for home users is the ability to use a single printer to service all the computers. Windows XP offers a networking wizard that works quite well for most people to setup a home or small business network. You can find it by: ...

Set up a home network – Part III

This is Part III of our ongoing series regarding home and small-business networks. You can read the first two installments here:  Part I and Part II. In Part II, we discussed how to use a ‘wired’ system with Ethernet cabling to connect your computers and broadband connection. We suggested that you purchase a Wireless Cable/DSL Router with 4 port switch to connect your computers. The reason we suggested a wireless...

Set up a home network – Part II

Last week we introduced you to some networking terms and technologies. This week, we will show you how to start building your network. In these instructions we discuss how to setup a network for sharing the Internet, but if you only want to setup a network for sharing files and printers without broadband, simply leave out the broadband modem and these instructions will still apply. One term we did not define last week was...