Archives for Advice

How to Change Win 8.1 to Look Like Win 7

March 3, 2014 | Comments Off

In response to a recent request for help, Ed Rudel outlined some of the ways you can change your Start Menu to look just Windows 7 but benefit from all the improvements under the hood in Windows 8.1.

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I think it would be best solution would be to configure Windows 8 to boot into the Desktop mode. The Windows 8.1 update allows for this. Then I would download and install one of several programs that were created specifically to make Windows 8 look and feel like Windows 7. These utilities are: Classic Start or Skip Metro Suite. The Classic Start can be installed from Ninite.com (bottom right side of the site) and Skip Metro from winaero.com

This is a Leo Laporte Twit video that describes this procedure. As usual, it is 20 minutes long and has lots of overhead and not enough details but it make you feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Classic Shell is described in this Category 5 video (less bantering)

Ed Rudel

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Review: AT&T – Nokia Double Play

January 27, 2014 | Comments Off

AT&T Value Package Nokia 2520 Tablet and 1020 Phone

Foster Braun, Internet Advisor Jan. 25, 2014

Just in time for Christmas AT&T put the bow on a nice package of Nokia devices: the Nokia 2520 tablet and Nokia Lumia Win Phone 8 models including the outstanding 1020. Thanks to new friends at the super telco, I was able to obtain a review copy of both the 2520 tablet and 1020 phone with full access to AT&T’s super fast 4G LTE network.

The New Mobile Paradigm
Remember when phones were just for calling people? If you do, you may also vividly remember Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The new reality is that a fast growing segment of we cellphone users who carry smartphones are carting around supercomputers in our pockets and purses. We have discovered, however, that their relatively small footprint does not give us the kind of viewing space and manipulation that we are being invited to enjoy by increasing numbers apps and streaming sources. Hence the rise of the tablets and hybrids to bridge the gap. The combination of smartphone and tablet have become a new Mobile Paradigm.

AT&T Double Play

AT&T has been the biggest proponent of Windows …

Nokia 920 Windows Phone 8 Review

January 26, 2014 | Comments Off

**Foster Braun, The Internet Advisor, July 2013**

Finally

After an interminable wait, the ice suddenly broke when I was invited to the grand opening of the Microsoft store in Troy June 2013. There I met a helpful person who works for a West Coast PR firm contracted to promote Microsoft events. Through them I got to the right person in less than a week and had a Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 arrive in another week.

Heavy Enough to Cause Damage
My fire engine red Lumia 920 came out of the box swinging like a heavy weight. It is one of the heftiest mobile phones you will ever carry but…it feels strangely lighter than its older sister, the Lumia 900. This is perhaps because of the tapering of the edges on the phone which gives it a markedly more comfortable grip on the device. Unfortunately the bright minds that designed the Lumia 920 felt that the external surface had to be as slippery as possible! In the first hour of having the device out of the box it squirted out of my hands no less than a half dozen times. If you are going to make this your next …

How to Work Around Straight Talk's Lack of Visual Voicemail

January 16, 2014 | Comments Off

Rick Broida January 14, 2014 1:37 PM PST

As I mentioned in my recent post comparing no-contract iPhone options, last month I ditched AT&T in favor of Straight Talk, which gives me more or less the same exact service for considerably less money.

Just one problem: Straight Talk doesn’t support visual voice mail. In fact, on my iPhone 4S, I receive no notification whatsoever that new messages are waiting for me. It’s not often an issue, but the last thing I want is to miss an important message from a work contact or family member.

I immediately thought of YouMail, a visual voice mail service that’s actually more robust than what’s built into iOS. Alas, according to a YouMail support page, the service doesn’t work with Straight Talk (unless you’re willing to jailbreak your iPhone and monkey around with APN files).

Consequently, I’d just about written off any kind of voice mail for my iPhone. But it turns out there are two options, both of which work quite well. Here’s how to get set up with either of them:

Read Full Article Here …

Cal Carson Predictions 2014

December 31, 2013 | Comments Off

1) Apple will announce an “Apple TV Set” in the last quarter of 2014

2) Microsoft will have a new CEO that will divide the company into two parts.

One for Hardware (Surface, Xbox One)
One for Software (Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 O/S, Office)

3) Blackberry will be acquired by a third party and then be rebranded and produce a new product. …

Ed Rudel-2014-predictions

December 30, 2013 | Comments Off

This year I am not going to make any hardball predictions. So, let’s play softballs.

1. Steve Ballmer is retiring from Microsoft. I really feel that Microsoft internal product line struggling is killing the company. They have become like their old time and tired rival IBM who in years past was laughed at for clinging to the old and tired main frames to keep the blood pumping. The same could be said for Microsoft clinging to revenue streams from Microsoft Server software, Microsoft Office, and 10 year old new kid on the block, Xbox gaming console. Microsoft needs a transfusion, out with the old guard and in with new blood that will revitalize the company, refocus and inspire a new generation of products.
Microsoft new CEO will be young, between the age of 48 and 52 years old. How is that for a softball?

2. Microsoft Tablets – Currently the IPad is 40% tablet market. The Microsoft Surface and other OEM manufactures running the Windows 8 OS comprise less than 2% of the tablet market. I predict that Microsoft Windows 8 style tables by both Microsoft and the OEMs will reach 6% of the Tablet market in 2014.

3. Universal …

Richard Stiennon: Security 2014

December 29, 2013 | Comments Off

Growth in spending

IT security spending worldwide will grow by 24% That is an additional $14.4 billion:

Encryption and key management will be the fastest growing
Security analytics and intelligence will be the second fastest

Congressional Action

Increased NSA oversight will be legislated to quell the outrage.

Once Congress realizes that bills to legalize information sharing are no longer palatable in the wake of the massive surveillance state they have helped create, they will address the fundamental flaws in critical infrastructure protection. Nothing will pass.

New Attacks

Critical Infrastructure will suffer a damaging outage from a targeted attack.

Cloud Computing Platforms, such as AWS or Microsoft Azure will suffer sophisticated attacks to steal computing time and data.

There will be no mobile malware that can spread device to device or from smartphone to corporate network.

A nation state (Iran, North Korea) will use cyber attacks to project force. …

Shane Hamelin: Predictions 2014

December 29, 2013 | Comments Off

FUTURE TECH PREDICTIONS 2014

Massive User Drop for facebook

Younger people are dropping like flies due to social media drama, “the Look at me” syndrome and PARENTS. Big changes in social media heading for 2014. Snapchat, twitter members increase, while the facebook drop opens the door for a new type of social media

Amazon to tackle TV/Movie industry hard for 2014
Everything from its own TV hardware to Original programming and all cart content.
Another Cyber Piracy crackdown coming
With a lot of the Internet big boys now producing their own TV and movie content, they will start protecting these copyrights.

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Foster Braun Predictions 2014

December 29, 2013 | Comments Off

Part 1

-IA/MITechNews Combo will develop new podcast presence in 2014.

-Walled OS gardens (iOS, Android, Windows 8 etc.) will grow higher and more impregnable. Interoperability and Open Source are on life support.

-Steven Elop will be the new CEO of Microsoft when all the dust settles. The fix is in.
-Apple will succeed where others have failed with the smart watch.

Sad Goodbyes
-Aereo (depending on the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing in 2014)
-Facebook – will experience a HUGE loss of key user base (45-65) due to privacy, video auto play and other distractions.
-Barnes & Noble

Where will Nook go?

Part 2

-Google, the evil empire will rise to dominate the tech scene from mobile to OS.
-Amazon continue to will continue to dominate the eCommerce scene and maybe even release its own smartphone as a losing cost device like their tablets.
-Microsoft Surface products will gain wider acceptance and pave the way for Win 8 in popular mind. (BIG ACHILLES HEEL: Buggy software MUST be fixed (e.g. Evernote to YouVersion Bible)
-Windows Phone 8 will entrench itself as the third operating platform through solid overseas performance.
-TV Set-top box (w DVR) is new cord

Mike Brennan Predictions 2014

December 29, 2013 | Comments Off

1) Mobile – through smartphones – will continue its domination of the computing market. More than 30 percent of the ad spending in 2014 will be on mobile devices.
2) Interactive Video will redefine broadcast TV. Videos also will become the shopping vehicle of choice on tablet computers replacing still photos.
3) Open source will dominate software development. The days of proprietary applications and operating systems are numbered.
4) Big Data will then flourish in this new open source development world where mobile devices capture an exponential amount of information on users, including personal preferences that become the new way businesses deliver target advertising …

Archives for Advice

How to Change Win 8.1 to Look Like Win 7

Review: AT&T – Nokia Double Play

AT&T Value Package Nokia 2520 Tablet and 1020 Phone

Nokia 920 Windows Phone 8 Review

**Foster Braun, The Internet Advisor, July 2013**

Finally

How to Work Around Straight Talk's Lack of Visual Voicemail

Cal Carson Predictions 2014

Ed Rudel-2014-predictions

Richard Stiennon: Security 2014

Growth in spending

Congressional Action

New Attacks

Shane Hamelin: Predictions 2014

Foster Braun Predictions 2014

Part 1

Mike Brennan Predictions 2014

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Archives for Advice

AT&T Value Package Nokia 2520 Tablet and 1020 Phone

Foster Braun, The Internet Advisor, July 2013

Finally

Growth in spending

Congressional Action

New Attacks

Part 1

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**Foster Braun, The Internet Advisor, July 2013**