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Back to School: Hardware Wars

It is now time to start digging into the guts of the computer. There are a few core components that are critical to the performance of it:

- Processor: This is the engine. The bigger it revs, the better the performance. To provide another analogy, think of the processor as you sitting at your desk.
- RAM: Random Access Memory. This is your desk. The more stuff that you can get on your desk to work on, the more you can accomplish.
- Hard Drive: Your filing cabinet. Got a big filing cabinet, the more information or stuff you can store. If it’s not sitting on your desk, it’s in your filing cabinet.

There are also ancillary components that are not critical to the actual operation of your computer but do make it more useful. Such as:

- Optical Drive: This is the CD or DVD drive. Play music, watch a movie, store data as a quick backup or to transfer elsewhere.
- External Hard Drive: A backup device for documents, images, music, etc. This helps protect you from our mantra of “Everything Crashes.”
Let’s dig in, shall we?

Processor: Processors are measured in gigahertz or ghz. Simply put, the higher the number, the faster the processor. A processor rated at 2.8 GHz will perform the same task faster than one rated at 2.0 GHz.
Current processors are available in single-core, dual-core, quad-core and yes even octo-core variations. As fast as any single-core processor can be, it can still only do one task at one time. A dual-core can do two distinct tasks at once, while a quad-core can do 4 tasks and an octo-core can do 8. For a great visual distinction, check out this animation from Dell. The transition from single-core to multi-core processors is a major leap forward since, as stated above, the processors can now carry on at least two distinct tasks simultaneously. This is absolutely critical for maintaining a good performance. If you are building a computer at an online store, take the base processor in the configuration and upgrade it by at least 1 step. Preferably 2.
Not to open the tech debate of Intel vs AMD , just follow this piece of advice when making your purchase. If the computer has an Intel processor, make certain it of the Core 2 Duo model line. If it is an AMD make certain it is of their Phenom II line.

RAM: Consider how long you are going to own the computer, this will probably be measured in years. For every year you plan on keeping this computer, get 1 GB of memory. So, if this is something that you’re going to keep for 4 years or more, get 4 GB of RAM. Software never shrinks. It always grows and gets more robust. If you’re planning on keeping the machine for a few years, get it pre-configured to attenuate for the inevitable software growth. I’ve lost count of the number of times that someone has said to me “It seemed so fast when we first got it.” Yep, I’m sure it was but since nobody ever includes a memory upgrade when sending out all their software upgrades/updates, the computer reached its breaking point.

Hard Drive: Most hard drives are of a good size right from the start. For all intents and purposes, make certain that you go no smaller than 80 GB. If you can get a bigger drive as an upgrade for less than, say $20, do it. Nature abhors a vacuum and you will start filling that space.
Something else to consider when examining the hard drive specifications is to examine it’s RPM speed. An 8,000 RPM hard drive will get data pulled from it slower than a 10,000 RPM hard drive. This is a good upgrade to get if you can as well. When examining your potential computer, look for choke points or areas where data is going to get bogged down. An ultra-super-fast processor with a million GB of memory will still creep along if the hard drive is a mess.

Optical Drives: A CD-RW should be your base drive. If the computer can’t burn a CD, don’t even bother looking at the price. Just walk away and save yourself the hassle. Given the size of software these days, the move is being made towards it being placed on a DVD in lieu of a CD.
Windows Vista, for example, can only be had on a DVD. DVD’s are preferable to Cd’s in that they can hold considerably more data. Seriously consider the upgrade to a DVD-ROM/CD-RW. This is a drive that can: Play a CD, Play a DVD, or burn a CD. A DVD+RW drive is worthy of mention since it allows you to play or create CD’s or DVD’s. A rather versatile tool, indeed.

External Hard Drives: They are less than $100 for a good sized drive. They plug directly into a USB port on your computer. Most come with some sort of software to back up your data. Spend the money. Save yourself a headache in the long run. Use it to back up, not store original data. If the external drive crashes, who cares? You lost the copy of the data. When the computer’s drive crashes, who cares? You’ve got the important stuff backed up.

Battery Backup/UPS: UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. They look like a surge protector but are so much more than that. With an internal battery, in the event of a power outage, they can keep your computer running. A basic one will give you about 20 minutes of battery time. This is plenty of time to save your work and get the computer shut down. Online or at the box store of your choice, they are about $50 for a basic model. Some manufacturers will even warranty equipment that is plugged into it because of their confidence in the UPS’s ability to stop electrical surges and clean the power.
Now you’ve got some ammunition to start shopping when the sales start. See a machine on sale that you’re wondering about? Post the link and let’s tear into the guts of it together. And if it is a good deal, get two.


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Back to school: Part 2

Last week started a multi-post series on how to deal with the impending onslaught of back-to-school computer advertising (Short answer: cave in to it) and with the next steps after you’ve successfully dealt with it. We started with an examination of the software recommended.

This week we’re getting into basic hardware. The first thing you need to decide on is a laptop or desktop. Both have their benefits and limitations.

Desktops: Financially, they are much softer on your wallet compared to a laptop for comparable systems. They also offer a much wider array of options for future upgrades. For example, if you want a larger monitor at some point, it’s no big deal to go and buy a new monitor. Compare this to a laptop where the screen size is pretty much set.  If a part on the desktop fails and needs to be replaced, there is an available replacement card. Of course, if the entire motherboard fails it won’t matter if it’s a desktop or laptop.

Laptops: The biggest benefit is its portability. Unplug the laptop, throw it under your arm and carry into another room. Done. Try going from your bedroom to the living room to watch TV with a desktop. Every feature that can be had on a desktop can be had on a laptop. There are two potential drawbacks. First, upgrading. If something fails, they tend to be more expensive to replace the part. Second, you also have to concern yourself with the battery, something that does not exist on the desktop. Batteries tend to have their own separate limited warranty from the rest of the laptop.

As we move forward, consider the options very carefully. This is a sizable investment and you don’t want to get home, set everything up and immediately realize that just because something is on sale, means that it is a good deal for your needs.

Once you decide on the computer form we can now finally examine the specifications. If we were car shopping, we’d be ready to start kicking some tires.

Next week, we start kicking some tires.

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Back to School.

We’re about ½ of the way through the month of July and as we head into August it is a guarantee that the back-to-school ad campaigns will start. Along with all of the reams of paper, pens, pencils, spiral notebooks we’re sure to see an avalanche of ads saying something along the lines of “You’re not a good parent if you don’t buy your kid a new computer for the upcoming school year.” Great. Just what you need to hammer you at every turn.

So let’s assume for sake of argument (and the purposes of this post) that you cave into the advertising pressure and decide to get a new computer. What do you get? How do you know you’re not going to get soaked on the price? Speaking of soaked, what recourse do you have if it ends up dripping soda out of the keyboard? These are valid and important questions before cutting a check for hundreds of dollars.

Since we’ve got some time before the advertising onslaught begins, this will be a multi-part post. There’s a lot of ground to cover: everything from processors to warranties to software. Zoiks Scooby-Do!

Lets start with easy stuff: Software

  1. What does the computer come with? It may say something like “Office 2007 pre-installed”. That’s just dandy but is it a fully licensed version or just a 60 day trial ? The trial versions are maddening. You get a number of projects/documents saved and suddenly the trial is over and you’re stuck with no means of getting to them. This was covered in a previous POST.
  2. What do you need? Since we’re talking about a school computer, we’ll keep the focus there.
    1. Some form of Office type software that includes word processing and possibly presentation-type programs (a la PowerPoint). Unless you specifically request this type of software, you are almost guaranteed to end up with a limited trial version.
    2. The manufacturers will try and push some kind of CD burning software on you. This is not necessary. Both Mac and Windows based machines have it built into the operating systems.
    3. Photo-editing software. Unless you’re going to be doing some serious design work, the built-in software on the operating systems should be fine. Something else to consider is that most digital cameras come with their own photo editing software to crop the pictures, remove red-eye, rotate, resize and most of the common editing tools.
    4. Without a doubt, some form of anti-virus and anti-malware. Kids, college-bound or high school, are click-happy. They’ll click on anything and everything. There are free software for both, so don’t fall for the “We’ll include anti-virus for just a few more dollars” line. Plus, being on a budget, it’s rather hard to beat FREE. For recommendations, refer to THIS POST.

Bear in mind that there are means around the added expense. Let’s face it, the software can add another 50% onto the price. Talk with the school and see if they can get discounts on the “Student and Teacher Editions”. Many colleges do offer these discounts and is something that is well worth checking into.

Stay tuned, next week we’ll dive into hardware.

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The View From Here sees..

a beautiful, healthy little girl.

Kynlie Anne McCalla

Kynlie Anne McCalla

Congratulations to the proud parents, Courtney & Nick as well to the beaming grandparents; Lori & Jeff Hink.

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Technology: It’s whats for dinner.

The ‘Net, your kitchen and dinner.

As the old children’s song goes “One of these things is not like the others. One of these things does not belong.” Or wait, maybe they do all go together.

Cooking is not just a question of opening the dog-eared Betty Crocker cookbook, making the list of things you need and heading off to the store. Nor is getting take-out making the phone call, and going to pick it up. When it comes to food, it’s getting to the point that I don’t have to deal with people anymore. Some day I won’t need to deal with being behind the person in the 20-Items-Or-Less line who has 21 items and wants to separate out the checkout into 3 different bills. I truly look forward to when that is just a nostalgic thing of the past.

In some larger metropolitan areas, the major grocery store chains are offering online grocery ordering where you place the order for what you need, pay for it and go to the store after a pre-determined amount of time to pick up your groceries. For those reader’s in the Sheridan area, Albertson’s and Safeway do not offer these services at the time of this posting. Ladies and Gentlemen, THAT is true practical application of technology.

Amazon.com offers grocery shopping as well. This is fantastic, especially since they still offer free shipping on orders over $25.

It gets even better. You can now compare prices between what you would pay at your grocery store and not think “hmm, is this a good price for the dishwashing detergent?”

Ponder this scenario for the Memorial Day weekend. You find a good recipe online for a dish that you would like to cook up.  You chose that recipe and the number of people that you are going to feed. The site then links up to your grocery store and adds all those items to your shopping cart. A quick look to the cupboard and you find that you already have baking powder. Remove that from the cart and hit checkout. Done. No wandering around with a list in the store playing bumper-carts with other shoppers for hours looking for that one random item. No more impulse shopping and coming home with five bags, three of which are from the bakery and still missing the key ingredients for the upcoming BBQ.

Don’t feel like cooking? Jump online and order a pizza. Pizza Hut already has integrated online takeout/delivery into their site. I’ve used it a few times and have run into only one error. The one-time flaw I experienced had to do with the billing in which they did not get my debit card information.  There have not been any mistakes with the actual food orders. The online order placement takes out the human error factor when it comes the actual food. I can even include a tip on the billing page for the driver. Don’t feel like a pizza? Subway and Quizno’s also offer online ordering.

That’s all for this week. Stay safe this holiday weekend.


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Spring Cleaning

Spring is in the air and while you might be thinking about spring cleaning for your house and yard, it’s a good time to do a little spring cleaning on your computer. Just like the lawn mower that has been sitting idle all winter, your computer requires routine maintenance as well.

The first thing you’d want to do is to clean up your desktop. Every program that is installed wants to put a shortcut on the desktop. Take a look through at everything you have sitting there. How many of those shortcuts do you actually use? Really now, when was the last time that you clicked on “QuickTime”? It launches automatically.

Rule of Thumb 1: If you haven’t on it in the past 2 weeks, delete it. It’s obviously not something you use on a regular basis. Deleting the shortcut does not delete the program.

Once you’re done getting rid of all those pointless shortcuts lets move on to the documents, spreadsheets, old emails, and other things that seem to have found a home there. Take all of those items and move them into the “My Documents” folder.  Look at that, you can now see that picture you’ve chosen for your background. While we’re at it, got a bunch of old installers sitting there? These are things like Adobe Reader or anti-virus installers that you downloaded and saved to your desktop. You have two options, either delete them or move them elsewhere. Either way, get them off of there. A clean desktop is a happy desktop.

Next, run a disk cleanup. If you have XP, It is located in Programs > Accessories > System Tools. This will go through and check for any temporary files, old installer files, the recycle bin, and see how much space can be saved by compressing all the existing files. Remove the check mark at “Office Installer Files” and make certain everything else is checked. The reason I’d recommend keeping these is if in the event you add in any plugins for Office you would need to your Office CD’s if these have been deleted. Not a big deal, but it might save you a little hassle down the road.

Once this is done, run Disk Defragmenter. Techs are often asked “What does defragmenting do?” The easiest explanation is this: Think of your hard drive as a filing cabinet.

BEFORE Defragmentation

BEFORE Defragmentation

AFTER Defragmentation

Run it two or three times. The less red you see, the better. While this is running, feel free to continue on your other spring cleaning chores: mowing the lawn, raking, purging the basement, etc. The more often you run it, the shorter time it will take. This will actually decrease the time a virus scan takes (since all the files & folders are now organized and together) and shorten the time it takes to launch any software.

That’s all for this week. The view from here is a lawn in dire need of some mowing and weeding.


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Got tunes?

No XM for you!

No XM for you!

So I happen to have a little time on my hands today and say to myself “Self, we need some tunes.” I pop open a new firefox tab, log into my xm account and try to listen online. Instead of getting a menu of all the various stations, I get this wonderful little banner.

You have GOT to be kidding me. I’ve had XM radio for years. Listening online has always been a part of the account. It was included free right up until (according Mr ESL call center support guy) March 11. At that point XM decided that in an last ditch effort to try and save their free falling stock that they ought to job the customer an extra $3 a month to have the privilege of streaming their stuff. No matter how many radios you have, unless one of them is an annual billing, you have to pay. I have 3 active radios. I play just under $90 per quarter. That’s about $350/year and yet somehow that extra $36 to listen online is going to keep them afloat.

Utter crap.

I could either:

A. switch to a yearly billing cycle.

B. Pull my radio unit from the vehicle and bring it inside and have it broadcast through a regular radio

C. Find other music alternatives.

Choice C it is!

There are many, MANY online streaming music choices out there.  More than I care to count.  Each of them work in a similar fashion in that the stations keep a record of what artists you like.  They will then make similar recommendations based on those choices. In order to get the truly personalized feel, you do have to create an account. It’s generally creating an username and password as well as providing an email address.

Right now, I’m rockin’ out to some old-school heavy metal on Pandora.com .  It really doesn’t get any easier than this. I chose the genre of music and it started up a station. As songs come up that I like, I click on the thumbs-up. If i don’t like the song, I chose thumbs-down. When I chose the thumbs-down, the song stops and is blocked from being played again.

You can even mix genres and create a custom-mix station of Jazz, Country and Death Metal if you so desire. Why you would want to is beyond my purview but it can easily be done.

Who needs XM in the office? I’ve got Lemmy streaming the Ace of Spades.

Until next week, the view from here is just rockin’.     


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Chicken Little, The Sky is Falling!

Chicken Little, the sky is falling! By 2012 the Internet is going to have regular “brown outs” causing your computer to lock up. Chaos ensues as doctors can’t get receive critical patient data, stock trades are lost and grandparents the world over can’t receive pictures of the kids. The brown outs are predicted to begin some time next year.

You have been warned by Nemertes Research. These are the same ones who predicted the brown outs would occur in 2008. I can’t say that I remember any brown outs. Maybe I missed them prepping for the great Conficker massacre. As an aside, I’m still waiting for that.

This is yet another continuation of the Exaflood Myth. The Exaflood Myth states that internet growth is at or over 100% each year. Let me rephrase, internet traffic is doubling every year.

In 2008, the Minnesota Internet Traffic Studies program at the University of Minnesota did a comprehensive study and demonstrated that while wireless usage grew by 50% - 60%, its still a far cry from the 100% growth.

This myth is commonly sited by major carriers as a primary reason for wanting to change the common pricing scheme of having a monthly fee for bandwidth regardless of how much is actually used. Currently most ISP’s charge based on either the amount of time you’re online (for dial-up users) or your connection speed for those on a broadband connection. They would much prefer to not only charge you based on speed but also the amount that you use. With the massive amount of content out there, ISP’s want to cash in on the data that’s coming through their pipes to you. Just like having a water or gas meter on your house. Gentle reader, this is the politics of fear. According to Karl Bode at dslreports.com:

The term “exaflood,” created by the same PR tank that crafted the term “intelligent design,” is part of a sophisticated campaign aimed at convincing the press, public and lawmakers that without giving carriers what they want (less regulation, no net neutrality laws, no price controls, huge subsidies and tax credits, less consumer protection), the world will simply run out of bandwidth and we’ll all be weeping over our clogged tubes.

I implore all of you: Question everything. Just because you read it at a respected news source does not make it true. Do your own research. It took just 10 minutes of doing internet searches using the terms “Exaflood”, and “Nemartes Research” to start realizing there are serious holes in the report. The view from here is pretty skeptical.


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Put that in your facepage and load it

Up until a few months ago, if asked about Facebook or Myspace, I would say to run screaming from them. We tend to get a lot of computers sitting on our bench riddled with viruses and spyware. A lot of times they have the common factor of a Facebook or MySpace account. We started making the assumption that the viruses were coming in via those sites.

I would like to take this opportunity to amend that previous mindset and possible misinformation. Both are highly popular sites so it is only natural that we would see a high percentage of computers that frequented them. To draw the conclusion that the viruses are a result of coming in via these sites because the user has frequented them is as an erroneous statement as to draw the same conclusion because the user frequented Fox News.

Both sites are considered “social networking”. What the heck does THAT mean? In short, it helps you connect with others who have a similar interest in things. Or, re-connect with old friends, high school or college classmates.

Like any tool, they have their uses, benefits, limitations and hazards.

The benefits are pretty straight forward. I’ve been able to get back in touch with some old friends who I haven’t spoken with in 15 years or more. After reminiscing about the old times, you find that the people you may or may not have had a falling out with don’t really care about the past and are just happy to swap stories of kids, work and life in general. As one friend put it to me “I don’t think you and I were ever on the outs and, even if we were, we’re not the same people we were 20 years ago. Life is good!”

The hazards and limitations can be a bit more subtle. The sites have applications which you can install onto your account. The last part bears repeating. They are installed, or associated, with your account. They are not installed onto your computer. For example, I added a family tree maker that will send requests to those members of my family that have a Facebook account. It will then link their account profiles onto the family tree. Any time you add an application there is a standard disclaimer that comes up:

Allowing XYZ access will let it pull your profile information, photos, your friends’ info, and other content that it requires to work.

Let’s dissect that. By allowing that application to be associated with your account, you are allowing that app access to all the info that you have on Facebook. From a security point of view, that creates a gaping hole through which you could drive a semi.

There’s nothing to say that you have to install any application. It will work just as well if you have 50 app’s installed to having none.

Another potential hazard is if you are job hunting. Recruiters and HR departments routinely scan through facebook and myspace for applicants. Lets suppose you’re job hunting and your status on facebook says “my boss is a jerk. Can’t wait till I blow this popsicle stand.” Now let’s suppose you applied for a job and the HR department scans through andsees your status. What are the chances of even being called for an interview after they see that? Not much.

Check out this link from PC World for more information.

Do the potential benefits outweigh the hazards? Since the hazards are easily managed, the answer is yes. As with any online presence, one always has to remember that the Internet is global and anyone can read what you place online in a public forum.


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Email hoaxes, spam and Mr. Ed

(Sung to the theme song of the TV Show “Mr. Ed”)

This email looks like a hoax,

Of course,

Snopes has debunked worse

Of course

It’s plausible

enough to be true

I wish that they’d drop dead!

In a previous post, we covered the basic grounds of email etiquette. Things like getting rid of all the Fw: Fw: Fw: Fw: in the subject line, or knowing the intended audience.

If you could see the view from here, you would see a mountain of email forwards sitting in my inbox. Believe it or not, I actually get more spam from people I know than from outsides sources. “Send this prayer to 10 people”, “Little Suzy Netsurfer wants to know your first name for her 7th Grade science project”, “Forwarding chain letter emails puts you on a spam list”, and so on, and so forth. Actually, I wish the last one was true. Maybe if I scared the pants off of enough people with that, the chain letters would stop flowing. Naah, who am I kidding?

That being said, I submit the following for your perusal:

> Rather than forwarding the “Send this flag to 10 people to support our troops” email or other such pseudo-patriotic foolishness, exercise your First Amendment right and delete it. Sending these are a pure waste of time. It’s just “feel-good” crap. Hey, lookit me! I support our troops because I can click on “FORWARD” and my address book! Puh-leez. Why not write an actual letter to a soldier? You don’t even have to know their name. There is the Any Soldier Project, or the USO, or Soldier’s Angels amongst many others. Take out the pen. Put it to a sheet of paper and start writing. Who cares if your handwriting is sloppy? It’s a heck of a lot more personal than blindly emailing that flag. Plus, think of how much bandwidth and space you’ve saved in all the inboxes by not sending that flag.

> Thinking of forwarding that prayer or the “I’m thinking of you” or “You’re special to me” email? You know the ones I’m talking about. We’ve all seen it. The end of them say to send it back to the person who sent it to you as well send it to 10 people you love/care about/think about. Here’s a better idea. You can do two things for that person. First, you can delete that email as soon as it hits your inbox. Second, pick up the phone and call that person. TELL them how much miss them, or care about them. Or, send them an original email. It doesn’t have to be a long saga detailing all the things that you love/miss/like in that person. A simple “I was just thinking of you. You’re special to me.” SEND.

> Any email asking you to forward to all your friends is immediately suspect. I don’t care if its advice on how to remove laundry stains, supposed quotes by a lawmaker, the 10 latest things that cause cancer or whatever. This is the basic litmus test to use when forwarding something along. All you have to do is ask yourself this question: “Is this worth printing out, spending the money on a stamp and mailing it?” If the answer is ‘No’, just hit the ol’ Delete.

> Hoaxes, fakes, and downright lies: Not sure if something is true or false? Take the headline of the email or the general topic and throw it into the search engine of your choice. I’ll bet that 9/10 times you’ll get hits from snopes.com, hoax-slayer.com or another myth debunking site. And 9/10 of those hits will be documented articles saying that it is a hoax. You can do one of two things: delete the email and forget about it, or (if you’re particularly mean) send the results back to the person and say “Do your homework before sending out this garbage. Oh, and I was just thinking of you. You’re special to me”.

> If you are ever asked for your password in an email, delete it. There is not a ISP worth having that would request your email password since if they need it, they already have it on record.

If you claim that you don’t have time take any of the advice above, I submit this question to you: How is it that you have time to forward every piece of uninteresting, untrue, sickeningly sweet email that crosses your path? Fact verification often takes less than 2 minutes and you can learn something in the process.


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