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Internet

A Fourth Utility?

Water, gas and/or electricity, and telephone service have been widely available for years and present in almost every household in America. In the past few years, I have noticed that households with Internet connections now panic almost as much with an Internet outage as they would with a power outage or water leak. The Internet has truly become the a 'fourth utility'.

We all use the Internet now as a communication medium and the ultimate reference device. When it slows down, act erratic, or fails, we tend to worry about it almost as much our other three utilities. You can keep your fourth utility humming along problem free by following the advice we have laid out for you on this site regarding Internet security and troubleshooting. 

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 quite a bit of work done – including this post.

The tire place offers free WiFi so I was able to sit and work on Internet things. I also answered my calls and scheduled appointments for next week. I did have to postpone some appointments for today, but I was still able to get to everyone I had scheduled (at least that's the plan, I haven't left the tire place yet).

AOL is FREE! Stop paying for it!!

A few months ago AOL changed their business model completely.

AOL has never been a real Internet provider. They are an advertising company that charges subscribers to see their ads.

With the spread of broadband Internet and wiser consumers, AOL has finally realized that people don't like paying $25/mo. to see strategically placed ads and a cluttered interface.

If you are paying for AOL, I am not going to try to convince you that you need to cancel or leave the service.

I will let you know though that AOL has changed their business model and their service is now FREE for broadband users and $9.99/mo. for dial-up users.

A word for our Dial-up readers (and our high speed Internet emailers)

Lately, I have helped many dial-up computer users get their email unclogged. It became clogged because their friends and family who have high speed Internet sent them messages that were way too big for email. Usually these messages contained either large digital photos or video jokes or messages that bring dial-up users email to screeching halt. 

DIAL-UP USERS:

  • You absolutely need to know how to check your email using your web browser (this tip explains how ).
  • When email stops coming in or you see messages repeating themselves, it is time to check your email as above and then delete any messages that are larger than 500 kilobytes (kb). This will allow your email to flow again into your email program
  • Inform the offending parties that send these overly large messages that your system can't handle the volume and to please remove you from their forward lists.

HIGH SPEED USERS:

Never assume it’s your problem

I think we have talked about this before, but it bears repeating. When your Internet connection stops working suddenly or seems to be acting strange, don't immediately assume it is a problem on your end. Often times it is not a problem with your system at all. If this happens to you, follow these steps instead:

  1. Turn off your computer (and high speed modems and routers if you have a high speed connection)
  2. Wait about two or three minutes then plug everything back in and try your connection again.
  3. Do not fiddle with any settings if you didn't change anything before the problem. 
  4. If you still don't have Internet access, wait about an hour or two then try again.
  5. If you still don't have a connection, then it is time to call your provider and report the problem. IF you haven't changed any settings on your end, don't let the tech support people talk you into changing anything. Remember, your connection was perfect a little earlier. 

For high speed Internet connections, read our tip for troubleshooting your connection for more information.  

We need a new Internet Appliance

i-openerAt one of the first, now defunct, Comdex computer shows that I attended in the late 90's, I attended a round table discussion on Internet Appliances. This was a huge buzz word at the time, but unfortunately it was ahead of its time. An Internet Appliance did only two things…browse the Internet and email. The picture I'm showing in this story was known as the Netpliance from a company called I-Opener. The idea was great, but at the time Internet connections were dial-up only and the Internet had not attained a true critical mass of users.

You don’t HAVE to log into AOL or MSN

Many AOL and MSN users have converted to either cable or DSL high speed connections over the last few years. This tip is for all you AOL and MSN broadband users.

IE7 LogoWhen I work with a high speed AOL or MSN user, habit guides their mice to the AOL or MSN icon. With a high speed connection, you do NOT need to log in to the service's browser if you just want to look up something on the web. Instead, decrease the time and steps it takes to get to the web by more than half by simply double-clicking on the Internet Explorer icon (pictured) from your desktop or Start menu. This will transport you instantly to the web. You only have to sign in to the AOL or MSN software if you want to check your email. Heck even that is optional, but that's a tip for another day.

Moving to a new computer requires patience

I've helped many new people this fall move to a new computer. Like moving to a new house, it takes time and patience before everything gets just right on your new computer. It is important to know that you can't simply hook up a new computer and start using it. You need to uninstall any unwanted software, properly configure and update your security software, setup your Internet and email connections, and then most importantly, transfer your data from the old computer to the new one.

Inevitably, when I work with a new computer customer, I get the deer in the headlights look when I if there data is backed up or know what data they want to move and where it is stored. You have heard me mention many times how important file management and backup are, but I have also mentioned that this is the most difficult part of computing to learn and understand. Many computer users can get by not learning about files, folders and backup for years, but when moving to a new computer, this will make the transition a lot tougher and longer. 

These computer oldies are OUT!

I've kept this bottled up for at least two years, and now I'm going to let it out and would love to hear your comments. Computers have been in the home on a large scale for about twelve years now and certain aspects of computing just don't work in today's' tech world. Here is my list of what no longer works:

Anything less than 1024 X 768 resolution. Even many productivity programs require this minimum resolution today. If the print seems small to you at this resolution, there are ways to have the better resolution and bigger text.

Google – more than just a great search

Why is Google's stock always so high? How can a company be worth so much if all they do is help people find web sites? Where do they make their money?

Before you dismiss Google as just a search engine or over-priced stock, take a look at the hidden features they offer.

Google offers so many services for free that many experts have theorized that Google may one day replace libraries, phone companies, operating systems, Internet browsers, phone books, calendars and reminders, email, television and even paper.