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Run, don’t walk, to buy a new computer

One of my favorite Sci-Fi movies of the past few years was iRobot. The film was so loosely based on the Isaac Asimov book that they had to put "inspired by" rather than "based on" in the credit.

The film took place in the near future in a time where every home had a robot.

One main corporation was responsible for supplying most of the robots. As a new line of robots was introduced, the corporation gladly exchanged everyone's existing robots for free for a brand new model.

What no one suspected was that the new robots were rigged to take over the world.

Broadband Bliss

During the holidays, I helped a friend buy and setup a new computer. After looking at his current bills, we determined that his family would save money going with our local cable company for their TV, telephone, and Internet setup. They dumped MSN (dial-up), AT&T long distance, and Qwest in the process. Now they have a better TV plan, unlimited long distance telephone calls, nice phone package, and of course the high speed Internet. Once we finalized the setup, I introduced them to some of the things they could do with broadband. They were amazed at the speed of the new machine and connection speed, but also very pleased that their phone would no longer be busy when they used the Internet.

Add more USB ports easily

PCI USB Expansion CardMany new computers over the past few years come with a minimum of six USB ports (four in the back and two up front). With cameras, scanners, printers, MP3 players, external hard drives, mice, keyboards and more, what seemed like a lot of ports quickly dwindles. You could add an external USB hub that plugs into one of your ports then gives you four more, for a net gain of three. Hubs can be found for about $20-30. More often, however, I'm recommending people spend less than $10 and get a PCI USB expansion card that gives you a net gain of four or more USB ports.

I think my settings are messed up

First, let me explain that this is not a complaint. I am trying very hard not to use HelpMeRick to vent my frustrations.

I hope that readers see this more as a humorous observation on what it is like to be a computer guy than a computer guy complaining about non-computer guys. As much as I work on computers, I prefer to think of myself as a guy who helps people rather than a guy who fixes computers.

Sometimes computer guys need a little help in figuring out a problem. Rick and I often talk off-mic about how people for some reason think that their computer should be easy to figure out. We can't figure out where this perception came from.

How much computer can $40,000 get you?

Over the past few weeks, I have been working with a local business (that I will not name) to help them change their computer setup. The business is of the type that they need to worry about security, privacy and large-scale record keeping.

When I help out with this sort of job, I have no problem admitting where my limits of expertise are and I help the client find another business that has the book learning to do the job they need. I am grateful for the real geeks who can do this type of job because I prefer to work with the people rather than the machines.

The business client has kept me on board for the job though because I will be there to setup the individual computers and help the employees through the process.

Know how much you are paying for high tech

I was going to write about a tremendously awful transaction with a local big box and one of my customers, but I decided I will save it for another day…unless you the web visitors demand the story. It's a doozey, but unfortunately not unique.

Instead, I want to write about the financial consulting side of my business. I know very little about stock trading, CD's, bonds, gold, and mutual funds, but I do know what technology and telecommunication services cost and how to save money on monthly bills. I still get surprised to find out how many people don't really know how much money they spend a month on phone and Internet service. Often times, I can save people almost $30 per month (that's nearly a new computer a year) and get them better services. At the very least, I can usually keep expenses about the same, but still increase services. Let me illustrate how to approach your tech bills and see if you can benefit from a change.

How to buy a computer book

When teaching my basic computer classes, I often get the question, "What is a good computer book?"

This is also followed or preceded by the complaint that the individual's computer did not come with a manual.

As strange as it may seem, there is a very good reason why the average computer doesn't come will a full instruction book. The reason is that there is too much to know about a computer to fit in a single manual.

Most computers come with a small user guide that shows how to turn it on and what numbers to call for tech support. Strangely this little guide is often a file on the computer, so you must turn the computer on in order to read it.

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.

Geek Squad Story

Two stories from one day of work. Those of you who know me know that I don't 'slam' other people or businesses. I only relay information that I view as important to save technology consumers money, time and frustration. Here are two actual stories that were relayed to me today about Best Buy's Geek Squad:

Story #1

A new customer of mine informed me that she hired the Geek Squad to come to her house to setup a home network. Their advertised rate for such a service is $159 minimum. The 'professional' who showed up spent nearly seven hours at the customer's house and when he left, the network was not completed and the customer told that it couldn't be done. To the Geek Squad's credit, they didn't charge the customer.