Archives for Advice

7 Changes Boomers Have Made on Technology

1. Dumb Phones I was bereft when my ancient Razr phone disappeared as it was so easy to use and is no longer available. In looking for a replacement, I found most phones have tiny black buttons and keyboards designed more for texting and playing online than for making calls. Some manufacturers are listening to these concerns, however, and creating phones specifically for my brethren. According to cnet.com reviews, the Doro PhoneEasy series offers basic, easy-to-use phones with big numerals, a bright screen and few unneeded extras.

2. Intelligent Phones Intel is working on a phone for those who have memory problems. Using caller ID tech, it’ll display a photo of the person calling, the user’s relationship to the caller, and information about their last conversation. It would be even more helpful if Intel would create a human-implant screen that would jog my memory upon meeting people I “know.”

3. Nana Technology Companies like Accenture and Intel have teamed up with universities and other researchers in the development of gadgets that make life easier. These include smart walkers users can retrieve by remote control; pillboxes that remind you to take your pills; and mailboxes that let you know when …


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Printing from Web-based Email

Shane Hamelin posted this in response to a caller’s question last week about printing from email.

Printing from “Web-Based” email accounts like Gmail, Yahoo and even Comcast can sometimes lead to problems if you don’t resist the need to use the print function on your browser. Using your browsers print button can get frustrating because it doesn’t print correctly due to emails that just don’t print well due to their design and layout.

Without getting too “technical” on the “why’s & how’s”, I thought we would just show you with a few illustrations to get you printing correctly with Web-Based email.

In Gmail, use this to print your email:

In Yahoo, use this to print your email:

In none of the above cases, should you use this button (shown in Internet Explorer):

 


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Facebook Lets You Literally Face Your Friends

Facebook made a huge leap forward by including a Skype-like function that allows you to video chat with your friends when they are on Facebook (providing, of course, that they have a camera on their computer!)  This could be a huge competitive jump for the uber-social site.  Our old friend Mike Wendland has a video and some how to instructions on this site.


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Vista SP1 and Office XP "End of Life"

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Microsoft Office XP will reach the end of support on July 12, 2011. From that date onward, Microsoft will no longer provide support or free security updates for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). In order to stay secure and continue support you must upgrade to Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Click on the clicks below to view Microsofts life (support) cycle of other Microsoft Office and Windows OS versions

Oh, and for computers that are still running Windows XP SP3, your end of life and end of support is April, 2014


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Almost Indestructible Botnet Uncovered

A malicious code known as TDL has infected nearly 4.5 million computers around the world in the last three months. Not normally big news except that security analysts are saying that this vampire won’t die even if you drive a stake through its heart.  The TDL botnet has developed its own security algorithm that makes it almost impossible to get at its main servers and even when they are shut down, the system still keeps working its damage!  Read the full story.


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Watch out for .Net updates!

For you PC users, Susan Bradley of Windows Secrets Newsletter, our guest from June 25, has a strong warning about installing Microsoft’s .Net updates. She also has some detailed information in the latest Windows Secrets about other patch information and how to solve problems caused by troublesome patches.  Well worth the reading for PC users.


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The End is Near For Paid Anti-Virus on PC's

What is happening to all the anti-virus providers for PC (and now Macs!)  They seem to be going into other businesses or out of business. Matthew Schwartz of Informationweek.com has some interesting insights into this alarming phenomenon.  Full Story.


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It's Time to Move Up to IE9

Windows Secrets is a great free monthly newsletter about all things Windows and, while it can get a bit high tech at times, it also has excellent insight into Microsoft’s key players.  This month security expert Susan Bradley is encouraging Vista and Win 7 PC owners to move up boldly to Internet Explorer 9. See if you agree.


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Lesson IBM Can Teach At 100 Years Old

We tend to think of tech companies in terms of the last 20 to 30 years when computing began its exponential growth. Who would have thought that the a Tabulating Company founded in 1911 would last long enough to teach companies like Apple and Micro a lesson or two despite its own challenges?  This is a great article about some of the reasons that IBM has stuck around this long. Makes you wonder what kind of shelf life Apple and Microsoft really have!


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Another Monster Patch Tuesday Coming for MS

Microsoft announced that your computer is up for 16 vaccinations or booster shots coming this Tues., June 14.  Hackers are targeting everything from MS Office to .Net Framework.  Say, “Ah for the doctor and bend over, please!”  It won’t hurt a lot and it’s better than the alternative!


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