Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

If you have been thinking about upgrading to Windows 7, but have been holding off due to the cost of the software, there is some good news from Microsoft. Beginning October 3, 2010 for a limited time (no end date announced), Microsoft will offer the Family pack upgrade for $149.99 – this includes three upgrade licenses for Windows 7 Home Premium. At $50 a license, this is a great deal. In order to be able to qualify for the upgrade, your computer must currently be running Windows XP or Windows Vista and be able to handle the hardware requirements for Windows 7.

To find out if your computer hardware/software is compatible with Windows 7, you can run the Windows Upgrade Advisor. Most systems that run Windows Vista should be able to upgrade to Windows 7 fairly easily. Windows XP users will need to ensure that there are adequate drivers for their hardware, and will have to do a clean install of Windows 7 (upgrading directly from Windows XP and keeping programs and settings is not supported). Windows Vista users can do an in place upgrade to keep their programs, files and settings, however it is generally better to do a clean install to elimate potential conflicts.

Windows 7 was released in October of 2009 and is a great operating system which offers many new and improved features that make using your computer easier and allows you to be more productive.

If you have questions about upgrading, or need some help with the upgrade process, contact Pensacola Computers. Offering computer service, repair and training for Windows 7 and other software, Pensacola Computers is ready to answer any of your Windows 7 or other Computer questions. Visit them on the web at http://pensacolacomputers.com

Social Media is exploding across the global marketplace at an unprecedented pace, and local job seekers are learning how to best market themselves into previously untouched areas. Using Social Media tools such as YouTube coupled with Facebook, Linkedin, and other portals, career seekers are finding that a well placed and timed promotion can lead to amazing offers.

Take for example a local businesswoman, Marie Journey. Marie has an incredible amount of experience in marketing, recruiting, and is an expert when it comes to the Global aspects of Social Media. Using her own special Global Talent Strategy, she has positioned herself as the go to person when it comes to companies that are looking for someone with real world experience with how to use Social Media in a global marketplace.

Posting one of the most interesting and captivating video resumes on YouTube, Marie Journey has gone viral with a testimony to her talents. A proclaimed Social Media Do-er, Global Thinker, Results Provider, and Producer of Anti-WTB (watch the video for what that means), Marie is poised to explode across the Global Talent market.

Google has recently released a new feature to their Gmail service which allows US users the ability to make free calls (local and long distance within the US and Canada) right from their computer using a new interface built into Gmail – the service is promised to be free at least until the end of this year. To use this new service you must have a Gmail account, a speaker/mic hooked up to your computer (built in on laptops also works), and you have to install a small plugin which is available here: http://www.google.com/chat/voice/

To use the service from within Gmail, first make sure your speakers or headphones are on at a good volume and that your mic is on and set properly. Then from within Gmail, within the chat box you should see a “Call phone” icon and text – click that to bring up the call window where you can enter the number you wish to call (make sure to dial the area code first).

In testing out this feature, I found that calls where crisp and clear, suprisingly clear actually considering I was using a headset mic. When you call someone, the number you are calling from shows as 760-705-8888 which is no good for return calls. However, if you are logged into Google Voice, Gmail calling will display your Google voice number which may be used to call back. At least for the time being (while the calls remain free) this is a great service.

This feature is still being rolled out to Gmail users and if you are in the US and don’t see it in your Gmail chat box, it should appear their soon. It does appear that this feature is not yet enabled for Google apps users that use a custom domain name for their Gmail, but hopefully this feature will come soon. Free phone calls are always a good, and at least for the rest of this year we can take advantage of it through Gmail.

Wireless networks ( wifi or wi-fi) are everywhere these days with more and more people coming to depend on having an available signal for their laptops and portable devices such as smart phones and iType devices, but with this proliferation comes some issues that people need to be aware of. While it is admirable to want to share your wireless internet access with others, doing so caries a legal risk. Government and law enforcement tend to hold the owner of the internet connection responsible for what is transmitted over it and as such, if your neighbors are using your wireless to illegally download songs, movies or other material that is illegal, it is your door that gets pounded on by the law, putting you in the position of having to prove it wasn’t you. A quite simple solution is to ensure that you have wireless security enabled on your router (if you are unsure of how to do this, you can visit the manufacturers website of your router and check out their support section for directions, or talk to your local computer expert).

Then of course their is the initial purchase of the wireless hardware needed for your network. Wireless a, Wireless b, Wireless g, Wireless N, Wireless super G, MIMO, bgn, abg, dual band, multi band etc etc – it can get kind of confusing. A quick history on the wireless types as well as their basic specifications and uses:

Wireless a (802.11a) came out in 1999 and is one of the lesser used types of wireless due to the it’s higher initial price and the fact that its signal generally cannot penetrate as far as wireless b/g/n devices and its signals are abosobed more by walls and other objects. This type of wireless operates in the 5 GHz band with a data rate of 54 Mbit/s (realistically about 20 Mbit/s) which gives a big advantage when it comes to interference as the 5 GHz band is much less crowded than the 2.4 GHz band which is used by many other devices.

Wireless b (802.11b) came out in 199 as well and was the first widely adopted kind of wireless router device. With speeds of 11 Mbit/s (real world about 6 Mbit/s) and a typical indoor range of about 100 ft at the rated 11 Mbit/s speed and about 300 ft at 1 Mbit, wireless b was a great choice for early home and small office environments. Unfortunately, wireless b operates in the 2.4 GHz range which causes it to suffer from interference from other devices such as microwaves, bluetooth, older cordless telephones, baby monitors and of course other wireless routers that operate in this range. This kind of interference can get quite bad in populated areas and can cause a lot of frustration from dropped and poor quality wireless signals.

Wireless g (802.11g) came out in 2003 and operates in the same 2.4 GHz spectrum as wirelss b, but with a higher rated speed of 54 Mbit/s (around 20 Mbit/s real world). It is fully backward compatible with wireless b devices, however using mixed wireless g and wireless b devices will significantly reduce the overall speed of the wireless g network. Wireless g unfortunately also suffers from the crowded 2.4 GHz spectrum and is prone to interference issues in areas with other devices which operate in the same frequency. *Note: Super G wireless is a term that refers to a wireless device which uses to wireless g channels to achieve a rated speed of up to 108 Mbit/s, however these devices also have the potential to cause more interference.

Wireless n (802.11n) was released in its approved form in 2009, though many devices were sold before then as ‘pre-n’ devices. Wireless n has significantly higher potential data rates (up to 600 Mbit/s) and is backward compatible with previous wireless a, b, and g devices. Wireless N can operate on both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz ranges, although it is quickest when operating in ‘pure’ wireless n mode at the 5 GHz mode (‘pure’ n mode being where there are only wireless n devices hooked into the network). Wireless n uses MIMO (technology which uses multiple antennas) to achieve greater data rates over greater distances. There are also now a number of Wireless n routers which offer multi-channel broadcasting which allows the router to actually have 2 wireless networks – one for legacy 2.4 GHz devices and one for 5 GHz devices.

So what does all this mean in a practical sense when trying to figure out what kind of equipment to get? While generally the older wireless b and g devices are cheaper by a few bucks, they are also much more prone to interference so it is recommended to go with wireless n devices whenever possible. Also, if you have an older laptop (or desktop) that is using a wireless b or g card, if you have a newer wireless n router, you might consider upgrading the wireless b and g devices with a wireless n card (you can easily install a wireless n usb dongle on either a laptop or desktop that is currently using wireless b or g, and then just disable the older device through your device manager). Be aware that wireless N devices come in many configurations and different speed ratings (some are rated at the a lower 150 Mbit/s while others are rated at 300 Mbit/s)>

So for a quick recap: If you are setting up your wireless network, or thinking about upgrading it, consider going with the newer wireless n devices. When setting up your wireless network, be sure to enable wireless security to ensure that only allowed people are using your wireless signal. For questions, or help setting up your home or office wireless network here in Pensacola FL, contact Pensacola Computers

Office 2010 officially came out last month to the public, and it is now appearing on many new computers as well as being installed by home users and businesses as an upgrade. When Office 2007 came out, many people hesitated to upgrade from Office 2003 due to the change in the user interface and cost, however for those who are still using Office 2003, now may be a good time to consider taking the plunge and going with Office 2010.  There are quite a few revamped and new features in Office 2010 that really do increase the value, as well as make it more productive and easier to use. Both business and home users can find new features that help them do things better and faster, and while moving from Office 2003 to 2010 may take a bit of getting used to, it seems more than worth it.  Also, for the most part, if your computer can run Office 2007 or Office 2003, it should be able to run Office 2010. For the tech specs, see here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/office2010/archive/2010/01/22/office-2010-system-requirements.aspx

** Note to the tech people at Office Depot on Fairfield Drive here in Pensacola: Office 2010 will run on Windows XP, you just need to have service pack 3 installed (if you aren’t sure about the specs, then just read the Office 2010 box before you tell people that their computer won’t run Office 2010!)

Here are some of my favorite new and improved features in Office 2010:

1. Photo Editing from within Word,  Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Publisher – you can now edit pictures from within the applications with features like corrections, color adjustment, add effects, crop, and you can do it with a live preview – definitely a great added feature!
2. Screenshot capture utility: This nifty feature lets you add a screenshot of any active window or a snip (like windows snipping tool) to an active document.
3. Paste Preview/Options – in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher, you can now see a live preview of how text and it formatting will look in your document, you also have options on how the information is pasted into your document. Another excellent feature added!
4. Save and Send as PDF in Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher. This was available as a downloadable add-on for Office 2007, but is now included in Office 2010 as  a standard feature.
5. Backstage View – this is one of those Microsoft code words for what has basically replaced the File Menu from Office 2003 and the Office Button in Office 2007 – it is actually a pretty apt description as it allows you to access a number of features such as Printing, page settings, options for the applicaiton, save and send options etc, all in one place. With the new save options in Office 2010 you can now save to both your computer as well as SharePoint servers or Windows Live SkyDrive (which makes sharing documents on the web so much easier!)

While upgrading to new software will take a bit of getting used to, I have found that the new and improved features in Office 2010 really help productivity and make a number of previously ‘hard to do’ tasks so much easier. As computers, the internet, and how we interact with technology changes, so must our software, and Office 2010 seems like a good step towards the future.

If you are interested in checking out more new features, or getting a free trial of Microsoft Office 2010, visit here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/make-it-great/en-us/for-home#demo

If you are a student and would like a fantastic deal from Microsoft on Office 2010, check out the Offers page at Pensacola Computers  for details

While Motorola Droid users are patiently waiting for Verizon to push out the latest Android 2.2 which includes such wonderful things as the ability to use Flash Player 10.1 for mobile, tethering, faster web browsing and general faster experience overall, the web is now ablaze with an apparently ‘official’ version of Android 2.2 for the Motorala droid direct from Google, with accompanying instructions on how to install it yourself. I successfully installed this on my Droid this morning, and then installed the Flash 10.1 player. I am including the instructions and links I used, however be warned “This procedure should only be attempted with the knowledge that if you mess it up, it could mess up your phone beyond repair“. I personally had no problems doing this, but that doesn’t mean it will be successful for everyone, or that there isn’t a risk of bricking your phone if you mess something up on the way. Following is the instruction set I used with the website sources I got them from:

From: http://www.pcworld.com/article/202513/intrepid_users_find_froyo_for_the_motorola_droid.html?tk=hp_blg

“You can download the new update from Google’s servers here (42mb). Instructions for updating are similar to past Android OS releases from Google: Re-name the downloaded .zip file to “update.zip” (without quotes), and place it in the root directory of the SD card. Turn off the phone, and reboot while holding the “x” key on the keyboard. When a screen with an exclamation point appears, press the “volume-up” and “camera” buttons simultaneously to select from available boot options. Select “Apply update.zip” from the list using the D-pad.

The update will be applied, and then return to the boot screen where you can now safely select the “Reboot” option from the list. The first boot after updating will take longer than normal, so give it some time and leave it plugged in to a power source for the duration. Enjoy Froyo!”

Once you have done this and gotten 2.2 up and running you will need to install Flash 10.1 – now I searched myself to find the easiest way to install it, but it seems that trying to get it direct from Adobe.com isn’t supported yet for some reason on this build, however I did find instructions and a download that worked for me here: http://blog.laptopmag.com/how-to-installing-android-2-2-froyo-onto-the-motorola-droid **NOTE: only follow the instructions related to installing Flash as I have outlined below:

Download Android Mate. Before you can install Flash, download the Android Mate application from the Android Market 0 it is a free app

Download Flash. Download the Flask .apk file. (click here)  – Note: this download comes as a Zip file, I just changed the extension to .apk before copying it to the Droid in the next step

Connect the Droid. Connect the Droid to the computer , and enable the USB file transfer mode.  Place the Flash .apk file on the root of the microSD card.

Launch Android Mate. Open Droid Mate, then  locate and launch the “adobeflash3.apk” file.  This will install Flash 10.1 (beta 3) on the Droid

Special thanks to Droid-Life.com and Onix Concepts

Remember, use this procedure at your own risk. While it worked fine for me, it is still not ‘officially supported’ by Verizon – Unlike many of the ‘cooked’ ROMS floating around out there, this one appears to be more ‘official’ as it comes direct from Google itself.

Finally, Google has added a long awaited feature to its Gmail service – the ability to add images and rich text to email signatures! The next time you sign in to your Gmail account, click on the Settings link in the top upper right corner, and on the General tab about halfway down the page you will see the new Signature box with some new features. In addition to the regular bold, underline, italics etc, you can also change your font, change the font size, color and highlight color. YOu can add hyperlinks, and yes you can finally add images!!

While you can’t just upload an image directly (they must be hosted on the web somewhere) – you can easily just upload your image to a free image hosting service such as http://imageshack.us/ or http://tinypic.com/ and then copy the image address into the Image Url into the Gmail signature Add an Image dialog box. Once you have put in the image url, if it is correct, you will see an image preview. The dialog box also allows you to resize the image. **Note: you really should properly size the image before uploading it to the web, as an image that is too big will take a long time to load into an email message. Remember to click Save Changes at the bottom of the pages when you are done customizing your signature!

Email services like Gmail are constanly adding new features and this is one that people have been wishing about for a long time. The signature feature is a great feature, and if you have multiple Gmail accounts you can customize the signatures for each individual account. Unfortunately, the rich text signatures are only currently supported in the desktop browser version of Gmail and not supported on mobile versions. For the desktop version, you must be using the latest non-html version of Gmail.

It is that time of year again – thunderstorms rolling through the Pensacola area, sometimes leaving in their wake quite a few blown computers. While there are many people out there who aren’t using proper surge protectors, there are also many who are using surge protectors who still get zapped. There are truths and myths regarding lightning, power surges, and surge protectors, and unfortunately it is sometimes confusing to figure out what exactly you should do to protect yourself.

It has been estimated that only about 30% of computers that are damaged from lightning strikes are damaged through the electrical connection. The majority of computers which are damaged from lightning strikes are damaged through the modem or ethernet connection. While many people do have surge protectors on their electrical connection, most do not have them for their DSL/Cable ethernet or modem connections. DSL/Cable connections, as well as old style dialup modems are highly vulnerable to nearby lightning strikes as there is nothing like circuit breakers, grounds, or surge protection in between the cable/phone lines and your computer, and if lightning hits a nearby pole, or even the ground or a tree down the street, the electrical discharge that can travel through these lines can cause serious damage to your computer and accessories.

So what can you do to protect yourself and your computer? First of all, you should make sure that the cable/dsl lines coming into your house or business are properly grounded (I have run into quite a few cable/dsl installations that were not grounded at all!) The grounding is absolutely neccessary to help dissapate an electrical surge over and through these lines. Secondly, you should have your cable/DSL going through a special surge protector – this is a bit trickier as you really need to get a GOOD surge protector for these because the cheap ones that offer the cable/dsl ports can often seriously degrade your internet signal if they are of poor quality. Ideally, the surge protector should be between the cable/dsl line and the cable/dsl modem to protect the modem and everything beyond it. Alternatively, you can use Ethernet surge protection to protect your LAN either in front of or behind your router. Of course you should also make sure that your electrical connection is surge protected, and this doesn’t mean a power strip, use a high quality rated surge protector that is made for Computers and Electronics, one with a guarantee is advised.

No surge protector can protect from a direct lightning strike, but those are very rare, and most of the damage comes from nearby lightning strikes which can be mitigated by good surge protectors. When there is a bad thunderstorm, at a minimum you should shut off your computer and accessories, and even better, unplug them. Using any electrical appliance including computers during a lightning storm can be dangerous, so be careful.

So Steve Jobs went to demonstrate the wonderful new features of the new iPhone yesterday, but funny thing, it wouldn’t work because everyone was clogging up the local wifi. This is a bad thing because of two major points: first, many of the new touted cool features, like the ability to place video calls, only work on wifi networks, and secondly, why have a ‘phone’ that isn’t reliable enough to use on the phone carriers network?

Sure, the new screen is very nice and crisp, and there are definitely some cool features. But come on Steve – you demonstrate the new Netflix app which streams movies to your new iPhone on the same day that ATT, the ONLY carrier for the iPhone, changes it’s data plans and eliminates the one good thing it had going – unlimited data. Well, ATT isn’t stupid, and they know that while a lot of people don’t use that much bandwidth every month, that with the new apps, and new features coming out, more and more people are going to need more data, which with their new data plans means more $$$ for them.

It also seems that Apple, while forging ahead and trying to promote their slick new features, is missing out on some of the features that people really want – like the ability to actually view all the web pages on the web on their phones (sorry Apple fans, you will NEVER have the ability to do that on an iPhone). On the other side, Google’s Android is embracing the ENTIRE web and with the latest Android update, you can now view Flash websites on your Android powered devices. Lets not forget that Apple’s app store, while filled with an amazing number of apps, is still policed by Steve Jobs app controllers who decide what you can and can’t run on HIS hardware, not to mention the fact that 30% of the money that you spend on those apps goes right into Apple’s pockets.

So, should you buy a new iPhone? Well, if you don’t use a lot of data, then it might be worth it …. but wait, if you don’t use a lot of data, then that means that you really aren’t using the potential of the phone, so hmmm. Do you constantly use your phone where there is wifi? … oh wait, if there is wifi, then you can use a ‘REAL’ computer. Do you only need to see just a few pages of the web? well in that case, the iPhone is definitely for you …. oh wait, you live in Pensacola where 3G drops in and out on a whim, so again, maybe not for you.

Don’t get me wrong by my vitriolic commentary, the iPhone is a wonder of technology and is shaping the way people communicate. It definitely has some very cool features and is at the forefront of techology. It’s just that it’s shortcomings are becoming more and more apparent, as is the fact that Apple and Steve really don’t give a damn about much other than their bottom line, and what they determine the future will be. – Lets see, what did Steve do yesterday? He unveiled his latest profit maker. What did Bill do yesterday? He donated 1.5 billion dollars for women’s and childrens health. So who really is more interested in ‘helping’ the world change?

I was ‘lucky’? enough to get an iPad the other day for reviewing. As a number of people I do work for have gotten one, or are thinking about getting one, I was certainly interested to put it through it’s paces. Apple has a lot riding on the iPad, and from a marketing standpoint, they have done an amazing job at building the hype, and keeping it going, unfortunately the actual implementation isn’t quite as polished as Apple’s advertising machine. Don’t get me wrong, there certainly are some things to like about the iPad, so I will cover those first.

What I liked:

What I don’t like:

The verdict:
While the iPad does have some nice features, and it certainly will spur the innovation in the market, in my opinion, it is definitely not worth the hefty price tag. It is really just a cool toy (although I do love to have cool toys!). It is definitely not ready for the enterprise or any kind of serious business useage, and while I have heard talk of businesses rushing out to adopt it into their business plans, I think they will find they are spending more time trying to use it that they were using their ‘clunky’ workstations or laptops. For an oversized iPod, it does have nice video display, but my recommendation is that unless you like wasting money, or have money to waste, wait a while to see what comes out in the next 6 months or so as there are certainly some very cool devices being developed that won’t have the shortcomings of the iPad.