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Mac

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 should get for just basic stuff like email and word processing. "I don't need anything fancy."

2. I suggest a basic system that will handle all of their needs and a little more.

Using your solitaire skills (Drag & Drop) – Video Tip

Believe it or not, Microsoft put Solitaire in Windows to help new computer users get comfortable with the mouse and its functions. After years of playing solitaire, this tip will help you put the skills to use. I like to call this technique the "ol' 8 or hearts on the 9 of clubs trick." In computer talk, what you are doing when you move one card to another in solitaire is the "drag & drop."

Drag & drop ( " the ol' 8 or hearts on the 9 of clubs trick") is an extremely helpful and time saving skill to use in other computer activities. One of my favorite places to use it is moving files (pictures, documents, etc) from one location to another. For example, if you open a CD or memory card full of pictures up in one window and open another folder on your computer (like My Pictures) in another window, you can then drag files from one window to another.

Don’t buy the cheapest computer out there

"Buy 'em cheap and buy 'em often" is a phrase that I use alot when helping people understand my approach to computers. Since any computer you buy, no matter how much you spend, is only designed for today's uses, I don't like to over spend on a computer expecting it to last longer. I suggest that you buy your computer based on the most you need right now and when new uses come along in 4-6 years, just buy a new computer.

However, I saw a brand new Dell today that was a good example of why my advice shouldn't be interpreted as "buy the cheapest thing on the shelf."

Dell loves to advertise $399-$499 computers in their ads. I saw one of those machines today. It had a 2.4 ghz processor, 256 MB of RAM, no recovery disks and a 60 gigabyte hard drive.

While this system will run, it does it terribly slow and newer software will really have problems running on it.

I called Dell and ordered another 256MB of RAM and recovery disks. Now their $499 computer is a $599 computer and the specs are still lower than what they could have got from a store for $600.

My advice should not be understood as a recommendation to shop by price alone. Make sure you know your product. Compare the specs from every brand and price to see if what you are getting is truly a good deal or just a cheap computer. Our current minimum computer should have the following minimum specs:

Do I possess magic powers?

No, not really, but some people wonder… I think the wondering is actually a mixture of bewilderment, awe, and a slight hint of envy. I think the same thoughts when I watch Rachel Ray cook, an electrician wire, my Dad build stuff, Eric Clapton play his guitar, and a gear head work on a car. All these people are good at what they do because of two reasons: it's what they do, and they enjoy doing it. It amazes me that people look at the work I do and are amazed at how swiftly I can work through a problem or hunt something down on the Internet…it's what I do, and I enjoy doing it.

You have heard Adam and I talk about it often that for some reason computer users feel like they need to know everything about their computer including the troubleshooting and securing of it. The reality is that computers are as specialized a piece of machinery as you can buy today. Anyone can sit down and use a computer, but few have the knowledge to know how to make it work and act the way it should and there is nothing wrong with that. I can't fix and keep my cars running the way they should, so I have to resort to repair shops…I don't necessarily like it, but I don't have a choice either. My aptitude for fixing cars is low, and my time to learn that skill is nil.

Catching up after vacation

I took a short two-day vacation with my family. When I got back I had 31 calls to return. I was able to get back to almost all of them but I still have a few to call back tomorrow.

I am about ready to declare that computers are not yet perfect. With all of the windows fixes, anti-virus programs and teenagers out there to fix and prevent computer problems, we have made little progress in perfecting today's machines.

Some people call it job security, but I think there is plenty of job security just in teaching people how to use clean running systems. We don't need problems to keep good computer guys employed.

Electronic Voting

vioting machineI just returned from early voting and used a new e-voting machine. Once I was cleared to vote, I was given a small plastic brick that I entered into the machine that looked like a giant Venus fly trap. Once the screen came up, I was greeted with a very clear, large text voting ballot. As I glanced to the bottom of the screen, my 'ballot' would cover twelve screens. The touch screen was responsive, the text large and clear. As I voted, a paper record of my choices was being printed behind a small plastic cover to my left.

Mac viruses up 75% over past 2 years

While reading through the news from last week, I came across this story at CNN about the increase in the number of viruses in Macs this year.

The story gives most of it's attention to a story from last week about a PC viruses that was found on very few iPods (less than 1 percent). Reading a little further down, I saw this little gem:

"Oliver Friedrichs, director of security response at Symantec, a leading anti-virus software vendor, said 72 vulnerabilities were discovered in the Mac's OS X operating system in 2006, up from 19 in 2004."

Video Tour of HelpMeRick.com

HelpMeRick.com has a wealth of information for computer users of all experiences, but beginner or novice computer users find the information found here the most helpful. We have put together a short video explaining how our site is organized and how you can find information about computer topics that you are most interested in learning. No other web site is built on information quite like ours. We strive to make computers and technology understandable by all and a tool that will benefit everyone.

To replay this 6 minute narrated video tour of how to best utilize HelpMeRick.com, push F5 on your keyboard or click the Refresh/Reload button on your browser.

Windows Vista Search

Vista SearchThis is the third or fourth installment of my peek at Windows Vista which I have been beta testing for about a month now. Although, I don't think there is any Earth shattering changes in the function of Vista, one feature stands out as being well integrated. That feature is Windows Search. Microsoft did not get a chance to totally revamp the way we save and retrieve files as they had hoped with Vista, but they did integrate the Search function in every aspect of the operating system. And I do mean every aspect. All program and operating system windows have a search box in the upper right hand corner. Even the revamped Start menu has a Search box integrated into it.

I’m not going to tell your kids what to do but…

I had one of my longest appointments ever today as I cleaned a computer free of almost 15,000 viruses, setup a network, installed a wireless card, removed bad security software and replaced it with AVG, did troubleshooting on a fax machine problem and installed Firefox.

I even left for lunch and to another appointment for a while. The appointment took 5 hours not counting virus scans (I went to lunch and another appointment once I saw that there were more than 500 viruses.)

Of course my client was curious how so many viruses got on the computer. I had to explain that it was all caused by infected files that were downloaded through a file sharing program.