Protect Gadgets from Heat this Hot Summer

Protect Gadgets from Heat

Are you enjoying the 100+ degree summer temperatures? I am pretty sure your gadgets are not. Summer heat and activities can be brutal on electronic devices, but no one wants to leave them behind when taking the kids to the beach or the lake. There are ways to protect your phone, camera and portable media player from summer mayhem. DriveSavers (www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com), an expert in the data recovery industry since 1985, has some advice to share on the subject.


Summer sunburn. The baking sun will exact its toll on your skin, and it can be equally brutal to your electronic devices. DriveSavers advises, "Avoid leaving your devices out in direct sunlight. Electronics are not made to withstand high temperatures and may shut down when they get too hot, only to restart once they have cooled. When left in high heat for a period of time, these devices can fail and lose all data stored on them. To steer clear of these circumstances, place them in a beach bag or wrapped in a dry towel to keep them cool."

If you find your device has overheated, don't panic. Move it to a cool place (not the fridge or freezer - moisture is worse than the heat). Try holding it in front of the A/C vent in your car. Let it become cool to the touch, then attempt to power it back on.

Use caution when you're poolside. Again, from DriveSavers: "The splash of your child's big dive into the pool or the practical prank of pouring water on Mommy while she sunbathes can be casual occurrences that could cause water damage to your device. It is important to monitor where your device is in location to water and to secure your device with an appropriate protective case, whether it's a fancy waterproof case or a Ziploc bag."

If your device is dropped in the pool, power it down and dry it off – resist the urge to immediately try to turn it on as you can cause more damage. Remove the battery and SIM card, draining as much liquid as possible from the inside. Place any parts that encountered water in a Ziploc baggie full of uncooked rice for at least 48 hours to pull moisture from it. Then, reinstall the SIM card and battery and attempt to power it back on. If it doesn't back power on, consult your mobile phone company or an electronics repair professional.

Protect your photos and memory cards. According to DriveSavers, there are three major ways to avoid and prevent data loss.

1. "Never trust your camera as the single source to safeguard all of your photos. It is always best to transfer the images from the camera's flash memory to a computer hard drive as soon as possible. We recommend not deleting images or reformatting the memory card while it is still in the camera. Wait until all photos are transferred and verified before you clear your camera's memory card."

2. "Keep in mind that flash memory cards can be used about 1,000 times before they start to wear out. The best way to protect yourself and your irreplaceable images is by backing up your data. This will help guard against data loss when (not if) your hard drive fails. It's also recommended that you make additional copies of your backup media and keep a duplicate of it off site in a secure location. You can never be too safe with your memories."

3. "Carrying (memory) cards in your pocket can cause static buildup that can zap the card, making it unreadable.” DriveSavers recommends that you use the plastic case that came with the memory card. Better yet, store filled cards in your camera case so you can keep them out of the sun, sand and heat.

Blast away sand and dirt. Outdoor activities expose handheld devices to sand, dust and grime. Tiny particles can become embedded in crevices and scratch glass, lenses and hard surfaces. Don’t rub with a towel or sanitizing wipe - use a canister of compressed air to blow away debris.

If, despite all your best efforts, you discover a possible data loss, don't panic. Professionals have lots of tricks to help you recover your data. I once thought I’d lost all our photos from Hawaii due to an unreadable camera memory card, but the data was still there and I got our pictures back. Don't hesitate to consult an expert should you fall "victim" to summer mayhem.

&nbs

Helping Mom Out With Mother's Day Tech

Help Mom With Mother's Day Tech

The best Mother's Day gifts are often those that don't come wrapped with a pretty bow.  It's great when you're able to buy Mom the latest new gadget, but she may not know the first thing about setting it up or operating it.  What better way to show Mom your love than to spend a few hours together helping her to get comfortable with her new toy?  You will both love the one-on-one time.  Just don't forget to take her out to brunch when you're done.


Mom wants a new laptop.  Instead of sending her off to the store on her own, tag along to help her pick out the one that’s right for her.  You know Mom doesn’t need a gigantic hard drive and upgraded video card, but she’ll enjoy the faster boot up time of a solid state hard drive and lots of RAM.  It may even make sense to consider a touchscreen or tablet if she won’t be using it for work of a lot of typing.

Don’t just send her home with a box and a kiss.  Plan to spend a few hours helping her to get it set up and get familiar with her new equipment.  Start her off with the basics while you’re there, and then leave her with teaching tools such as Help pages and Tutorial Videos.  Both Microsoft and Apple have them so bookmark links and show her how to navigate to them.

If Mom sprung for a Mac or iOS device, Apple has a support community she can join to pose questions to the community (questions are often answered by repair or tech support professionals) or scroll through previously-asked questions to get some help.

Remote support is a lifesaver in those times when you just can't figure out why your printer isn't printing.  Many computer repair companies offer to login to your computer remotely to fix something, install an application, or show you how to do something that has you flummoxed.  If you aren’t comfortable being Mom’s sole tech support, find a reputable company that offers remote support and get her set up with an account and/or any software they require.

"Send your parents a Tech Support care package" by Google (www.teachparentstech.org) lets you send Mom a little tutorial video (or multiple videos), in a cute little message format.  It works great for subjects like "how to copy-paste" or "how to attach a file to an email."

Another idea for a really personal touch is to make your own tutorials that Mom can refer back to whenever she needs them, for specific issues you know she's been having.  Most people are visual learners so video is an optimal format.  Start a YouTube channel with all your how-to videos and share the link with Mom.  You can also write out the step-by-step details for tasks she needs to perform.  Make sure your instructions describe the task visually: "left-click on the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner of your screen" rather than "click on the Start Menu," as Mom might not know what the "Start Menu" is.

Most Moms these days love to see your Facebook status updates about the grandkids or your latest vacation pictures.  Make sure Mom is getting the full experience.  If she's not on Facebook yet, help her create an account, post a nice profile picture, customize her privacy settings and send out preliminary friend requests to connect with family and friends.

Even established Facebook users may appreciate a tutorial.  Last year, I had Mom write down all the questions she had about her computer, email, and Facebook over the course of a week.  Then we sat down and I walked her through them.  She loved it and it was great for me to be able to help her feel more comfortable with her technology.

If Mom hasn't gotten on the computer bandwagon yet (and you're pretty sure she's not ready), maybe she shouldn't.  There are plenty of devices that fill in quite nicely for a computer, like an iPad or Kindle Fire.  They’re intuitive and much less complicated and can probably do just about everything she'd need a computer to do.  There are even external keyboards available if she doesn't like typing on the touchscreen.

Before you hand Mom some new tech bling, just make sure it comes with a bit of set up time from you.

 

Apple's New iPad Mini

Apple Unveils Star of the Show: iPad Mini

In a much-anticipated event, Apple today released a spread of new devices, highlighting and improving the smallest form factors that the company has become well-known for. Two of the devices were additions to their iPad line of tablets.

With the first viewing, our inner Nerd died a little… The iPad 4 is relatively unremarkable. Except for the fact that they have ditched the "new iPad" branding in favor of numbers again, there is little to differentiate this device from its predecessors.

So how do they get away with calling it new and improved? They did add a faster A6X processor, HD front-facing camera for “Facetime”, and a Lightning connector, which made its first appearance on the newest iPhone. Other than these minor changes, which come as a sort of slap in the face to new iPad owners, there are few improvements. So unless you just have to have the latest or are in the market anyways, experts say – wait.
However, the event finally caught our eye with the new addition to their tablet line. The iPad mini is the star of today's show. The iPad mini has a 7.9 inch screen, down from the 9.7 inch screen of its big brother. The spin, this smaller screen has the same number of pixels as the iPad 2, which makes for a higher pixel density, and therefore crisper display. The device can be held in one hand, and contains all the features of the other iPads, down to the processing speed.

With the decent and competitive price of just $329, the iPad mini promises to pose a serious competition to the other 7-inch tablets, such as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. Its construction is of more solid materials and has a smaller bezel, which translates to a higher device to screen ratio. Early reports are mostly positive. Both devices become available on November 2, just in time for the holiday gadget gifting season.

Small Business Computers: Buy This Not That!

Small Business Computers: It's Important to Spend Wisely

According to a May 2012 report by the National Economic Council, there are 28 million small businesses in the U.S. employing 60 million Americans – roughly half of the private sector workforce. The balance between budgeting and productivity can be challenging to small firms, particularly those working to get (or maintain) a foothold in today’s economy.

As I travel for appearances on TV and radio, I am often asked what technology small business owners really need and what they can live without. With no further ado, here’s my “Buy This, Not That” series for the small office environment.

Buy Laptops, not Desktops (or Tablets)

The largest technology expense in a small office environment, especially one just starting out, is likely computers. Desktop computers are typically the most versatile, particularly to those who require a specialized configuration like dual monitors, upgraded graphics capability, or multiple peripheral attachments (like cameras, custom keyboards, or audio equipment). However, desktops lack mobility, often making it a hassle to work from home or on the road.

According to a Yankee Group report published in 2008, more than 50 million U.S. workers are considered mobile (i.e. away from their primary workspace more than 20% of the time). To a small business owner or executive, the ability to access a work project when away from the office is often pivotal to success and productivity.


Instead, consider equipping employees with laptops and docking stations. This will give you the best of both worlds at minimal additional cost. A docking station allows you to connect a laptop to a multitude of additional devices with one plug, typically via USB. Look for one that includes software to allow your system to function with the top closed, so that you can utilize external keyboards, mice and monitors. When deadlines loom (and, frankly, when don’t they?), the laptop has the portability to allow you to continue working from anywhere. No need to remotely access software or data from a secondary system – everything is exactly where you left off. Yet when you return to the office, one connection lets you work under optimal conditions to ensure your comfort and efficiency during your workday.

I like the Toshiba Dynadock U3.0 Universal USB Connect Docking Station which works with any Windows-based computer and is available for around $130. Its built-in video card supports two large monitors and the HDMI-out port allows you to view 1080p HD videos or games on an external display. It supports network data transfer over USB 3.0 and surround sound through either HDMI or 3.5mm audio. Compared to the two to four USB ports on many laptops, the six USB slots will increase the number of peripherals you can connect.

This is also a great option for allowing multiple users to share a specialized piece of equipment, like a large monitor or projector. Set up the docking station and whoever is hosting today’s sales conference can get going with a single connection.

A note about tablets: while their versatility is improving with every year, they are not yet functional enough to warrant outfitting your small office with them unless you need to fulfill a specific purpose. They certainly are not powerful enough to take the place of a standard desktop or laptop in an office environment.

Stay tuned next week for the “Buy This, Not That” recommendations for your small office network. If you have questions or would like more of my recomendations for small business computers drop me a note here.

Photo used by permission: cliff1066

Can An iPad Replace A Laptop

iPad vs. Laptop: Can an iPad replace a laptop?

As the new school year approaches, the question I get asked most often is, "Should I buy a laptop or a tablet?" Apple's Steve Jobs has asserted that we are living in a "post-PC world". can an iPad replace a laptop?

To test the theory, I traveled to Florida with my 2-year old, bearing my iPad 2 but no laptop. When an article needed editing, I realized that while it would be possible for the iPad to do everything I needed, it wasn't going to work for me straight out of the box. It needed modification.

If you are considering ditching your laptop, whether it's for a trip or for good, here's my guide to making it possible.

Touch screen vs keyboard

Microsoft Word vs iWork
With or without a keyboard, creating or editing a document or spreadsheet on your iPad isn't going to be easy unless you make an aftermarket modification. Microsoft Office isn't available on the iPad, but Apple's iWork suite will give you most of its functionality at a fraction of the cost. Pages, Numbers and Keynote handily replace Word, Excel and PowerPoint , and cost $5 each through the Apple app store. All the content you create in these programs is cross compatible, so if you edit a Word document on your iPad using Pages, you can open and edit it later in Word with no difficulty.

As much as we'd all love to be paper-free, there are inevitably times when you need to print something. You can search the iPad for a USB port, but to no avail. Printing something off your iPad will require accessing a printer wirelessly. To make the process as painless as possible, look for a printer that is compatible with Airplay, Apple's proprietary wireless application.

Universal Acsess
Finally, sometimes I need a particular program that isn't compatible with the iPad, or I need to transfer content to another device. The lack of a USB port or disk drive can make this challenging. But with Logmein Ignition ($30 in the app store), you can remotely access your home or office computer via the Internet. Install the companion app on your laptop or desktop and leave it running while you are away. Now you can access everything on your home or office system from your iPad, from World of Warcraft to your accounting software.

What do you think? Can an iPad replace a laptop? If you're still nervous about unplugging from your laptop or desktop, share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.


[transcript]
Hi, I'm Ryan from Nerds On Call and today we're going to talk about whether you can replace your laptop with your iPad. There's nothing cooler than an iPad, but when you start using it, after a while you start to think do I really need both a laptop and an iPad? Well, one of the first things you're going to notice is when you start using an iPad there's no keyboard, you tap on the screen. Well, that can be fantastic for short emails or Tweets or Facebook updates, but let's say you have to do a long email or a very long document. You'll find that tapping on the screen can get kind of tiresome and correcting is really difficult, but if you buy a keyboard like the one from Zagg.com, you could connect it to your iPad with Bluetooth and it turns it into a laptop.

With or without a keyboard, editing a document on an iPad is kind of difficult. While you get the touch screen so you can move around your cursor and decide exactly what you want to edit. It's not as intuitive or easy to use if you're used to a mouse and a keyboard. Another thing to keep in mind about the iPad is if you're used to using Microsoft Office for Word and Excel, you don't get those on an iPad, but what you do get is Apple's version called Pages or Numbers. So you'll have to learn a new kind of software just to get some of the basic stuff done that you're already used to.

As much as I'd like to live in a paper-free world and have everything go digital, I still have to print things every now and then. Well, with a laptop it's relatively easy, I don't even have to think about it anymore. But with an iPad only AirPlay enabled printers will work. One of the saving graces for the iPad though is a little piece of software called LogMeIn. For $50 in the app store you can use your iPad to access your computer or your Mac and do everything that they can do. So can you replace your laptop with your iPad? Yeah, it can be done, but you're going to have a lot of compromise and if you're willing to take that step, it could be kind of cool.
[/transcript]

Computer parts: CPU, Hard Drive, Giga...what?

Computer parts - do they have to name them such dorky names?

Going Back to school is a great time to take advantage of retailers competing for parent's dollars, and finally upgrade from that old Windows 98 machine limping along in your basement. In fact, please do yourself a favor, if you still have windows 98, please upgrade!

However, between gigabytes and megabytes, the component descriptions can be harder to decipher than your teenager's last six text messages. From RAM to hard drive to software, how does the non-nerd decide what's worth upgrading, and what to forego to save a few bucks? Allow me to demystify some of the tech terms so you can confidently tell that sales rep exactly what you want.

Tech Term #1 What is a CPU: The CPU is like your computer's brain. It controls every action your system performs, so spending some upgrade dollars here is a good way to ensure your new computer stays viable longer.

You are most likely to see the CPU described in terms that may look like gibberish to the average consumer. Intel or AMD will be your most common choices, and while I could make arguments for the benefits of both processors, for the sake of simplicity I like Intel because it is easier to decipher descriptions. Most Intel systems will come with the option of i3, i5, or i7 and speed and performance of your system will increase as you go up in number.

Tech Term #2 What is a Hard Drive: The size of hard drive you select determines how much data you can store on your computer. When deciding whether or not to pay more for a larger hard drive, think of your planned usage. The larger your hard drive, the more Gigabytes you can store.

Tech Term #3 What is a Gigabyte: To give you some perspective, you can store 150-200 high quality photos in 1 GB. Video files vary greatly based on length and quality, but storing an average standard definition DVD on your drive will take about 2-5GB. Documents and drivers don't take much space.


Tech Term #4 What is RAM: For most users, RAM will be the most noticeable upgrade. The amount of RAM in your system is the primary factor in how fast it can boot up, launch a program, navigate between them, and generally respond to your inputs.

If you have too little RAM for the amount of tasks you ask your system to perform, it will run slowly, freeze, or crash. Based on the demands of current operating systems and software, I would recommend aiming for 4GB of RAM and upgrading as your budget and system permits. Windows 7 32-bit can't recognize more than 4GB (more on that in a minute). It's cheaper to upgrade now than later, and while you may not need all that speed now, software upgrades you install in the future will require more RAM than that same program does today.

Tech Term #5 How Many "Bits" Do I Need: While the lion's share of new PCs will come pre-loaded with a Microsoft Windows operating system, you may be presented with the choice of Windows 7 32-bit or 64-bit. If you don't have many programs to install after getting the new system home, we'd recommend selecting the 64-bit version of Windows as it's the newest architecture, what all computers will eventually run standard, and currently somewhat less attacked by virus writers.

If you need to run older software on your new system, they will likely run more smoothly on Windows 7 32-bit. While the 64-bit operating system has an emulator that promises to allow older software to run, there may be compatibility issues.
If the tag on the new computer you're considering still looks like it's written in a foreign language, send me a note at www.callnerds.com/andrea for help deciphering the code.

[transcript]Hi, I'm Ryan from Nerds on Call, and today we're going to be talking about decoding PC specs. One of the first things we want to talk about is the processor. It's usually made by Intel or AMD. Now when you buy a processor for your computer, or when you are looking at a processor for your computer, you want to make sure you get the fastest one available for your budget. This is the main part of your computer where all the thinking is done, so all of the things that you open or close or programs you run, they're all going to need a fast processor in order to do it, so you want to pay close attention to what that is.

The next part of your PC that we want to talk about is your hard drive. Now your hard drive is long-term storage, that's where everything is stored. From your pictures, to your movies, to your documents. So you want to make sure you have a nice large hard drive to store all your stuff. One of the most important but often overlooked specs on a machine, is the RAM. You want to make sure you get as much RAM as you can. Now RAM is your short- term memory, so every time you open a program, save a document, look at photos, all of it has to load into RAM first, as it's going to the processor. So, the more RAM you have the faster your machine will seem, so get as much RAM as you can possibly afford for your machine. These days when you buy a Windows machine you get a choice between a 32-bit operating system or a 64-bit operating system.

I usually recommend that people go to the 64-bit operating system, because that's sort of the wave of the future. It's where everything's going, so if you get something in a 32-bit, in a few years there's not going to be very many programs written for 32-bit. Plus, 64-bit is a little more secure. Not a lot of virus writers are writing 64-bit code just to infect your machine. Hey, thanks for watching. I'm Ryan from Nerds on Call.[/transcript]

5 Spring Cleaning Tips You've Overlooked.

So now that you've untangled the rats nest of wires, and you're down to one remote, you look over at your keyboard and it looks like you've got a crumb factory EEK! Well DON'T put your keyboard in the dishwasher (like some suggest) use these neat tips and tricks to make your tech sparkling clean again! One word of caution though before trying any of these tricks please make sure to have your tech turned off. Better safe than sorry!

1. Silly Putty: See your toddler had it right! That silly putty is a great way to lift up all of those loose crumbs in the keyboard. Just lightly press into the keys, lift up and voila! A clean Keyboard! Plus it's a lot more fun than that canned, air and it doesn't just blow the debris and dust somewhere else. We really like Cyber Clean http://www.cyberclean.tv/. This silly putty is especially made for cleaning out your tech.

2. Tape: So you're at your desk and you look down at your smartphone and GASP! There are fingerprints all over your screen! Fear not just take some tape and press it lightly onto the screen and then remove. Lifts your prints right away. Whew, crisis averted.

3. Rubber Eraser: Get those smudges off of your keyboard, or anywhere else on your computer (besides the screen). The eraser will lightly buff the surface so smudges be gone! We even tried this ourselves, and it worked like a charm!

4. Q-Tips: From cleaning those hard to reach corners of your monitor to dusting in those little crevices that you normally just cant reach, Q-Tips are the best multipurpose cleaning tool out there for tech!

5. Toothpick: Ok ladies this one is for you, do you have that "makeup ring" in the tiny space between your screen on your smartphone and the sides? Just run a toothpick along that tiny crack and the makeup residue doesn't stand a chance!

So get out there and clean up your computers! Just for fun send us some before and after pictures. nerdchick@callnerds.com .

Photo by: rosefirerising