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Never be embarrassed

One of my stops today led me to a nice woman who said that she was somewhat embarrassed that she didn’t use her computer for more "important" purposes. She described that her computer usage primarily revolved around email, browsing the Internet and an occasional word processing document. When I explained to her that she wasn’t alone and that many people I see use their computers for exactly the same purposes, she was quite surprised.

One of my philosophies about computers is that you should never do something just because someone else is or someone else told you so. I think it is good advice for life too. If you are happy with how your computer works and with the types of activities you can perform, then great, no worries. Using a computer is a very individual undertaking and there is no reason that we all have to be performing the exact same functions with them.

Go west young man

I visited a couple of customers today who live in a remote part of Western Colorado. Although their homes were less than 20 miles away from Grand Junction, they had no option for high speed Internet other than satellite. Unlike the Eastern United States, broadband Internet is slow to roll out in smaller communities out West.
 
Satellite Internet is an OK option for some people who can’t get DSL, cable or wireless high speed, but the cost is prohibitive for many. Installation can cost nearly $500 and monthly charges start at $50. Two major satellite providers are

Warning: External Hard Drives

One of my mantra’s over the years is about backup. Over the past few days, I have been working for a newer customer who hasn’t heard my sermons.

He had a "computer expert" setup an extremely complex home network and a NAS (Network Attached Storage) backup system. None of this is out of the ordinary. However, unfortunately, this was the only backup the customer had. Last week, his external hard drive failed. All of his important data existed on that drive that was seemingly lost.

External hard drives use the same hard drives we have in our computers with an added few components to allow the drive to function independent of a computer. Problem is that a hard drive is a hard drive…moving parts and all. Moving parts eventually fail and power can quit as well. These increasingly inexpensive devices work fine as a secondary backup…but should never by your primary drive.

Successful Searching of the Internet

All too often I hear comments like "I can’t find anything on the Internet" or "I’m afraid of getting viruses from the Internet" or "Where do I start". In today’s meetings, we discussed some tried and true methods of searching the Internet successfully and easily.

Google is the current king of web searching and should be your first stop to start any search.

Boolean searching is probably the single best methodology to learn to improve your searching skills. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

Nothing is by the book

There are two things that make the businesses Rick and I run different from running a computer shop or working as the IT guy in a big company.

1. We see dozens of computers each week and no two of them are the same in any way.

2. Rarely is anything done by the book.

Every person has their own preference for desktop wallpaper, word processing program, Windows version, printer, antivirus, digital camera, web browser, etc.

Be careful using multiple accounts

Windows XP has a unique ability to act like multiple computers on a single machine. This feature was created so that the computer could be used in a business environment allowing each user to have his or her own programs, desktop, passwords and My Documents.

Although setting up multiple user accounts allows for a lot of customization, it has some pretty screwy side effects.

If you have more than one user account set up in Windows XP, many programs allow you to install programs into only one account. This is a nice feature if you only want to install a program into one account, but it can be a real pain when it comes to spyware and viruses.

Upgrade or repair?

If I had a dime for every time this question comes up….

I actually had this happen with two of my cutomers today. My answer, the last couple of years, is a definite ‘it depends’. Wishy, washy, I know, but it really does have to be thought out. First, the proper diagnosis has to be made. What is the estimate of the repair parts and labor and how does the user use the computer factor in together. Next, a comparison of that number to what is available in the market for new computers. Last week, as an example, Office Depot had a decent little system on sale for $198 after rebates!!

Unfortunately, the market is making so much of the technology we buy disposable…economically speaking. When looking at individual situations, however, the repair costs usually are a little under a new system. And with the exception of the hard drive that died, or the spyware and viruses that must be removed, the system is still very usable. So it comes down to how the computer is used. 

Don’t be embarrassed by simple problems

 

Yesterday I visited one of my favorite clients. She was having problems with her wireless keyboard. When I typed on the keyboard, nothing happened, unless we were typing in an area asking for a password. This was very similar to a problem someone called the show about last Saturday.

Her keyboard was wireless, as it turns out the little button that synchronizes the keyboard was stuck down. I pried it loose and – POOF! The keyboard worked.

Today I saw a similar problem. I received an emergency phone call from a client whose printer had stopped working a while ago, but now she needed to do some printing on a deadline.

Things aren’t always the same

A client of mine made a great observation today about computers. She put into words something that I have tried to articulate for years. I’m paraphrasing, but it went something like this: "The trouble I have with computers is that they don’t always react the same way twice."

"Wow", I thought….great statement. Unlike cars or toasters, computers have many more complex instructions going on at the same time. In fact hundreds of thousands of instructions are going on at any given time when you use your computer. And the scary thing is that these instructions are DIFFERENT for every single computer.

Be courteous with your attachments

The ability to send attachments via email is great. You can attach an important work form to your employees or just a silly picture to a friend.

If you enjoy sending attachments, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1.      Not everyone has the same programs that you do. If you are sending a spreadsheet document from Microsoft Excel or Quattro Pro, save the file as a .csv (comma separated value) instead of the default format. If you are using Microsoft Word, Works or Word Perfect, save your file as a .rtf (rich text format) file. These formats can be read by any computer. Microsoft PowerPoint is also a common format for email attachments and very few home computers actually have the program on their computer.