You are still smarter than a computer

The machine is basically dumber than rocks. It has to be told every move to make and exactly how to handle every task. When you turn it off, it forgets everything you told it to do. When you turn it on it has to use instructions in a micro chip to start remembering everything again. It handles a lot of data very quickly, and can do repetitive tasks over and over without getting bored, but it still is not much smarter than the sand and rocks it is made out of.

Did you know that your brain still works faster and better than a computer? No machine ever built can take its place. So remember, you are in charge. I know, that can be a scary prospect. But really, you are the one who does the real thinking. Or at least, you are supposed to be doing the thinking.

That's the point. You do the thinking. You are the one at the keyboard making it all go. The computer is a tool, like a shovel or hammer. The 'loose nut' on that keyboard is the person running the show without paying attention. Help yourself by getting educated, at least a little. Get familiar with subjects such as how to search the web. Or how to download from it without getting hit by malicious thugs who create bad software just for fun.

You have something a computer will never have: judgment. You can figure out what is good and what isn't; what will work and what won't. If you download everything under the sun from the internet without using your judgment, you are bound to damage your computer.

One important rule we all learn but don't always remember: THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH.

Display Doesn't Show Anything

Sometimes you turn on the computer and you can't see anything. Is the computer dead or just the monitor? One do-it-yourself way to find out is to plug a different monitor in if you have one. On a laptop there is usually an extra video output that you can use. A lot of people like to use a bigger monitor with a laptop anyway. But if you have any doubts, or if you don't have an extra monitor sitting around bring it to Tech Support and we'll take a quick look and let you know what we think.

Suck or Blow?

This is just a memory tag for asking if it is better to vacuum out the inside of your computer or blow it out with compressed air. Some worry that blowing dirt out with air can drive the dirt deep into cracks and crevices where it might do more harm, so they advocate vacuuming. In my opinion either method is an improvement over leaving the computer dirty.

Removing dirt helps prolong the life of your computer by removing possible short circuits and allowing heat to dissipate better. So any method that removes dirt is a good method. Blowing may not remove all the dirt but still makes things better than leaving them alone.

Vacuuming is more effective because you don't have to take the tower outdoors, and it removes some dirt that blowing cannot. It doesn't make much sense to blow out the dirt indoors where it can go right back into your computer. Not to mention your nose and lungs. When I vacuum out a computer I take care to remove the fan from the CPU heat sink (the big honking assembly in the middle of the mother board) and vacuum underneath. I also vacuum intake filters which can be hard to blow out.

You have to be careful with either method to avoid damaging fans or other equipment. And if you are directing compressed air into the tower it is wise to make sure the dirt has somewhere to go. Don't blow stuff into a corner or behind an assembly. Try to aim so that the dirt comes out of the box.

Tech Support will blow out the computer box for free if we do any internal work. Usually we have to anyway just to see our way around. Vacuuming is about $32.50 because it takes a little more time and is more thorough. Whatever method you use, and whether or not you have us do it, you should remove dirt from your box at least once or twice a year.

Mac vs. PC

YES, we work on Macs.

Lots of people like the Apple Macintosh line of computers. They are better at graphics than PC's, they are better built than many PC's and they tend to last longer. But they are also more expensive (comparing apples to apples, pun intended), and some of the models are built as a unit so it's hard to replace parts. If graphics rendering and handling are extremely important to you, then get the Mac. However, remember that the Mac will not last any longer, it may have to be repaired for more money, and it will be outdated just as fast if not faster than a PC (it can't be upgraded very much).

There are at least two schools of thought here. One is, buy a quality machine and it will last. The Macs are quality machines, and they tend to last. The other school says buy something less expensive because technology changes all the time, and you might want or need something better later. You won't flunk out no matter which school you attend, because it depends on what you want. The Mac is built better in some ways but will become just as outdated just as quickly.

Many people think there isn't as much problem with viruses and the like on a Mac. That is true to a certain extent, because the hackers just don't see the benefit of putting in the time developing malware for a small group. But it is getting to be less true all the time, because more people are buying Macs and the hackers are licking their chops. We've already removed viruses from a number of Macs.

Speaking of small groups, there is not as much help from other users available for Macs, and repair is problematic because sometimes you have to send the Mac to an authorized service center (especially under warranty). We can work on them for you outside of the warranty period, but generally they cost much more money to fix than a Windows PC.

More software is available for the PC, and when a PC needs repair it is far less expensive. Sheesh, most of the time you can buy a new PC for what it costs to fix a Mac. The operating system for a Mac is also different, so there will be a bit of a learning curve. Microsoft updates their OS problems every week. They are fast at repairing problems with their software. Apple, on the other hand, can take months to release a patch for a virus or something. Take your pick, but overall we still prefer the PC.

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Open newer file formats of Office documents with older versions of Office

You have an older version of Microsoft Office, like the 2000 version or the 2003 version. But someone with a newer version (like 2010) sends you a file, and your old program cannot open it correctly. There's a free solution for this.

Make sure you have all the updates installed for your version of the program. If you have Automatic Updates already set up for your computer then you are probably good to go. But if you don't, then go to Start/Control Panel/Automatic Updates and set it up to get the high priority updates. The Updater should check and get everything. You may have to manually make it check several times to get everything.

Click below to go to the Microsoft File Format Converter download page.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en

If clicking or tapping the link doesn't work, copy and paste the address to the URL address line of your browser.

After it downloads (pretty quickly with a cable hookup) double click on the file to install. Follow instructions and you should be able to open the newer files with your older program.

Using Laptops for Desktops

Yes, it can be done. A number of our clients use a laptop with external monitor, keyboard and mouse, because they can unplug and go when they want. It does double duty and cuts down on costs.

However, a laptop is not really designed for constant everyday use. The main problem is heat. Today's laptops are better at getting rid of heat than older models, but computing power has also increased, making heat more of a problem.

If you are going to use your laptop as a desktop, at least get one of those extra fan units that go under it. Don't put it in a closed-in area either. Make sure it gets plenty of fresh, clean, cool air. You'll also need to plan on replacing it every three or four years, because even if it operates at cooler temperatures a quality laptop will still not last as long as a less expensive desktop. Oh yeah, you'll need an external hard drive for backups too. Remember, it's not IF your hard drive will fail, it's WHEN.

Back It Up

We can't emphasize enough that you need to back up your data. This requires a little more money, but it is well worth whatever it costs. It's not a matter of IF your hard drive fails, it's a matter of WHEN. The hard drive will fail eventually, there's no question. It might last five years, or five months, but fail it will. It's a mechanical device that has moving parts, so it will wear out.

Get at least a second hard drive. You can have us install an internal drive or purchase one of those nifty USB hard drives and just plug it in. I recommend even a third drive and keep two copies of your data files along with the original. Get a software program for backing up and it'll do everything automatically. The USB drives also have built-in software for backing up.

You can also get an NAS. A network attached storage device is like a computer with just two or four (for small ones) hard drives. You can back up to it, and it will also make a second copy (or more). Most of them are starting to use the bigger terabyte drives.

Whatever method you choose, just make sure to back it up. Sing it to the tune of the theme song for the Lone Ranger, which is the William Tell Overture, while you're coming down to Tech Support to talk with us about backup options.

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Passwords

 You want passwords that are as long as possible with as many variations in letters and numbers as possible. Use an acrostic as a mnemonic device to help you remember the password. This means you make a sentence where the first letter of each word is in the password. For instance, PBPGINFWMY is Please Be Patient God Is Not Finished With Me Yet. Don't use this one, though, because it's too famous.

When you start mixing in numbers you can make some neat words. F8 can represent the word 'fate' or R8 can stand in for 'rate.' These can also be parts of words, such as CR8 meaning 'crate.' Think of a sentence then use the first letters of the words as your password, substituting numbers where possible and adding in some capital letters too.

Your favorite song lyrics can help. FOTMRBRDITHOTRS stands for 'Fire on the mountain run boys run, devil's in the house of the rising sun.' It's a line from a Charlie Daniel's song called The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Except it's 15 characters and most passwords are shorter.  But you get my drift. You could cut in in half and add some numbers from your birthday, like FotmRBR823.

It's good to have a combination of upper and lower case letters and numbers. But stay away from obvious simple passwords such as those involving your wife's name and a birth date. They might be guessed by a clever hacker. Below is a list of common passwords and variations that you should avoid. It is not an exhaustive list but only intended to give you ideas for what to avoid. This list shows the first passwords tried by hackers, so if you use one of these or anything close change it immediately.

1. password or passw0rd, trustno1, welcome, login, admin (standard passwords)
2. 123456, 1234567, 12345678, 1234567890, 121212, 123123, abc123, (number combos)
3. monkey, dragon, mustang (characters)
4. photoshop, adobe123 (software names)
5. baseball, football (sports)
6. iloveyou, letmein (common phrases)
7. master, princess, ninja, hottie, starwars (pop culture)
8. ashley, bailey, michael (names)
9. shadow, sunshine, flower (nature)
10. superman, batman, jesus, (famous people)
11. qazwsx, qwerty, azerty, 1qaz2wsx (keyboard patterns)

Recover deleted files

This is pretty easy for most computers. Usually, a deleted file will be sent to something called the Recycle Bin. Once you realize you deleted the wrong file, double-click on the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. You'll see a list of files and all you have to do is double-click on the file name and click on the restore button, or right-click on the file name and select restore. Piece of cake.

If the file somehow missed the Recycle Bin, you will need some additional software to get it back. Some information cannot be retrieved. But, if you install new software there is the possibility you will write over the top of your data and make it difficult if not impossible to retrieve. If you can't find your file in the Recycle Bin, it's best to just bring it to us and we'll find the file for you if we can. Click HERE for more about the data recovery service at Tech Support.

Data Storage by the Numbers

Byte: a computer 'word' made up of eight 1's or zeros called bits.

Kilobyte: about one thousand bytes. Most documents are measured in the kilobyte range. A 300-page book or document in Microsoft Word format containing 116,945 words is about 830 kilobytes. Converting that to an Adobe pdf file gives a file size of 1,612 kb or 1.612 megabytes. Simple letters with a couple of graphics (like letterhead) are about 25 to 50 kilobytes. Abbreviated in file sizes as kb, i.e. 50kb.

Megabyte: about one million bytes, one thousand times the size of a kilobyte. Pictures are about 2 to 6 megabytes depending on your camera's settings. Most songs are around 3 to 4 megabytes of information in an mp3 format. Abbreviated in file sizes as mb, i.e. 4mb or 4 megabytes.

Gigabyte: about one billion bytes, 1,000 times the size of a megabyte. You can fit about 250 4mb pictures in a gigabyte.

Terabyte: About a million megabytes (a trillion bytes) and again, 1,000 times the size of a gigabyte. This equals about 250,000 pictures (assuming 4 megabytes average), 128 DVD movies (assuming 8 gigabytes each) or maybe 20 Blu Ray disks.

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