HOUR 2:
Tech News & Commentary
Lucas in North Pole, Alaska listening on KFBX 970 AM asked: “I gave my ex-wife the computer and I tried to get the iPhone and it just didn’t work out for me, so I took it back. I’m wondering what kind of electronic device would be good for e-mails, business and getting on the Internet.”
Have you thought about getting another computer? If you’re just using it for business, websites, and email, unless your business is graphics or video editing, almost any basic computer system will be fine. There are entry-level desktops and laptops selling for under $500, from brands too numerous to mention.
The other possibility, if you don’t want a computer for some reason, is a tablet like the iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab. You didn’t say why the iPhone didn’t work for you, and it’s possible that a tablet based on a mobile operating system might have the same issues as the phone did. But, if your primary objection was screen size, then the tablets will correct that for you.
Finally, you have netbooks. These are inexpensive laptops with smaller form factors, built in 3G as well as Wi-Fi, and processors specially designed for extended battery life, albeit at the cost of performance. There are Wi-Fi only versions that you can buy from the companies that make them, but the models that include 3G are usually purchased through a wireless carrier. The carrier subsidizes a portion of the price, because you’ll be signing up for a data plan with them.
Good luck to you! And stay warm.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
“This Week in Tech History” Weekly Feature with Chris Graveline. Rob and Mark filled in for Chris this week.
Leroy in East Point, Michigan listening on the Android App asked: “I’m wondering about this ‘cloud’ that everyone is talking about. Is it for the average consumer? Is it safe, secure? Is it free? Do you have to pay for it? Who offers it? I know upload speeds are much slower than download speeds. I’ve heard that some companies after a certain amount do something you called “throttling”. I’d like to know more about it. Is it accessible from any other computer, since you have it? Is it like any of those online storage solutions, like some that I’ve heard advertised?”
You may be slightly disappointed when you find out what it really is… You see, when you’re designing a network and you need to make a diagram you draw a little desktop computer to signify a workstation, a little desktop-style tower to represent a server and when you want to draw something that happens outside your network you draw a little cloud and a line connecting it to your network.
The little cloud represents some fuzzy outside entity that interacts with your private network and, for example, delivers data or connects distant offices, but is handled outside your domain, so you don’t have to worry about messing with it’s design… 99% of the time that outside entity they call “the cloud” is… THE INTERNET!
When you hear about anyone talking about “cloud services” that means “internet services”, programs that run in someone else’s server, but that you can access from your computer, you can connect to them and use them. But, they’re not physically stored in your computer, you access them via the internet.
Now, is it for the general consumer? It often is, webmail is a cloud service, so are Google Docs, so are online backup services, so is IRS e-filing, all of them are for consumers.
Just like with software that you install directly on your system, a lot of cloud services are not for the general consumer, for example, if you’re a police officer nowadays, you probably have a laptop in your car that lets you access law enforcement databases, that’s a cloud service that will not be accessible to the general consumer.
Some services you pay for, like most online backup services or Netflix instant videos, some are free, like online maps and most webmail access.
Are they secure? they tend to be, if a company is careless they can make unsafe services, but reputable cloud services are typically very secure.
Since cloud services are not stored on your hard drive they are generally accessible anywhere and from any computer.
Now some of what you asked is not directly related to cloud services: upload and download speeds are typically different not because of cloud services, but because of ISPs. People tend to download much more than they upload so the connection’s upload speeds tend to be slower unless the user requests a symmetrical connection from their ISP, and usually pays considerably more for it.
The same goes for throttling, it’s not related to cloud services, that’s something some ISPs do. Those ISPs will give you a certain amount of data you can download and from that point on they consider you a heavy user and throttle you, meaning they slow your connection down so you can’t download as much data in the same amount of time.
So there you go, the cloud is nothing more than the internet, and cloud services are nothing more than programs that run off an internet server and are accessed via the internet instead of needing to be installed on your computer directly.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Aziz in Algeria listening online asked: “Hi, I listen to your wonderful radio from a program called RadioSure. But, the problem is that everyday the show is repeated. All the talks are the same everyday 🙁 Please guide me how to listen to more shows on the radio. I’m so sad, please help me. Another link or PC App to listen to your radio will be great.”
For those wondering, Radio Sure is a free Internet Radio Player.
Our online stream plays the last 5 most current shows. If you’re listening online everyday, we can see how you would get tired of listening to the same stuff. However, we air a new show every Sunday at 2pm Eastern Time (UTC -5).
You are welcome to listen to our show on our website. We have a show player on the main page — on the bottom right. And, if you want to download or listen to our podcast anytime, we’ll have a link to our RSS Feed on this week’s show notes. Look for the show page for the Weekend of April 22 under “Past Shows” or just click here.
Tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast for more details.
Guests in this hour:
Bridget Carey, Technology Reporter & Social Media Columnist – The Miami Herald
Is it time for Facebook Rehab? Bridget shares a few tips to ween yourself from the addiction at work.
Alex asked: “I am having a problem with IE8 which runs in Windows XP. When I click on some desktop icons, they open in a reduced-size window rather than at full-screen. Is there any way to get full-screen size without having to maximize manually every time?”
This does not sound like a great solution, but it’s very popular and it gets the job done. Windows is not great at remembering whether you like the window maximized or not, and it’s not very consistent even when it does remember. For example, it might remember to start every new window maximized when you’re using the program and open a new windows but forget to maximize if you click on an outside link.
What Windows will remember, though, is the size of the last windows that was open so what you can do is open a single IE window, stretch it to cover the full size of the screen as if it was maximized, when you’re happy with the size close it (make sure there are no other windows open, if there are close them first), open an IE window again and it should be the size you set the last window to.
Technically it’s not maximized, but you get the same real estate you’d get with a regular maximized window. As a note, sometimes you have to do it twice in a row to get it working, but it should take no more than two tries.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
Carla in Wisconsin asked: “Hey Dave. I have a Dell laptop and it won’t boot up. Says to call service administrator. What is this? Can I just wipe the hard drive to clear it? I have Carbonite and the disc for install.”
That sounds like a hard drive failure. The “service administrator” is the computer’s version of asking you to summon a priest for last rites. (Actually, we’d guess that you probably have a particular Dell model that was sold into the corporate world frequently, as that terminology really means “call whoever is responsible for fixing computers, maybe that’s us, but maybe that’s your own IT department.”)
But the fact that it doesn’t even try and boot isn’t a good sign. Having the System Restore CD and all your files backed up on Carbonite is a wonderful thing, but if the laptop’s hard drive has shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible, you’re out of luck.
If you haven’t got a tech savvy friend or family member who can look it over for you, then you might need to call Dell’s customer support line, or even find a local repair shop (there are still a few of those around!) to give you the thumbs up or down on your hard drive.
If the drive is dead, then you have a decision to make. Replace the drive or replace the notebook. A notebook hard drive won’t be particularly expensive, but replacing it yourself can be very difficult depending on the particular model of notebook you have. A repair shop is likely to charge between $150 and $250 to do it, plus the cost of the drive itself.
The good news is, once you either repair this laptop or buy a new one, you’re going to feel very smart as you’re retrieving your backed up data from Carbonite. Well done on that part!
Let us know how things go.
For more information, tune in to Hour 2 of our podcast.
This Week’s Prizes for Our Listeners
iolo: Several copies of System Mechanic – Fix & speed-up your PC, Automatically
SmartShopper Electronics: Several SmartShoppers — Electronic Grocery List Organizer
ZAGG: A variety of goodies, including: ZAGGsparq battery packs, ZAGGMate iPad cases, dual USB 2.0 in-car chargers & XL gadget wipes.