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Travis' Tech Tips (10)
Way More Than You Want To Know About Wireless Services
Written by TravisWay More Than You Want To Know About Wireless Services
So you are ready to enter the 21st century and get high speed internet. The problem is that you live in the middle of nowhere and there are limited options for you. At least in this area your options probably include wireless service from I-land or Easynet, or a cell phone company's wireless service. The next problem becomes that you have no idea how either one works or even what they are. The short explanation is, expensive. They know that you have almost no options so you will be paying a premium for the service. This is the part where I give you the long, complicated answer, but I will make it as simple as I can.
Let's separate this into two categories. Wireless internet from a cell phone company, and wireless internet from an internet service provider (ISP), like I-land and Easynet. Although they are similar types of technology you are going to judge their effectiveness in different ways. One thing they both have in common is that they overcome the problem of not being able to run cable for internet to every single house in a rural area.
Cell phone companies provide you internet the same way they provide you with cell phone signal. It will take fairly good signal for you to be able to get internet. If you only get cell phone signal occasionally in your house or only in some parts of your house then you will probably not be getting internet connectivity at your house through that company. These services are available at cell phone stores or some big box stores like Walmart. They require that you purchase a piece of equipment that attaches to your computer as well as a service plan. These plans vary by company so make sure that you shop around to get the best deal. There are limits on how much you can use on these plans so make sure you check those limits.
Wireless ISP companies do something similar; they even use some of the same towers to put up their equipment. In the most basic terms they send a signal from their source through routers to an antennae and receiver on your house. This signal is then sent through your house with wires to your modem. The modem is a device that translates the signal into something your computer will understand. So although the signal comes to your house wireless it is not actually wireless inside of your house. Check the What is Wifi and Wireless Without Worries blogs to guide you down the wireless road inside your house.
So now all you have to do is choose the one that is right for you, and we will have solved all of your problems. OK, we have solved all your immediate internet connection problems, trust me you will have more connection problems eventually. So, go browse the internet at high speeds and enjoy the 21st century.
What Is Wifi?
All day I have people tell me that they are computer illiterate. Now most of these people are using it as an icebreaker. What they don't realize is that they are exactly correct in their assessment. These people are not stupid, but they are illiterate. Calm down, it is actually a compliment. If you went to Russia without learning the language you would be illiterate. The same thing is true of computers. It is a whole new language that you have to learn. This is a process just like learning any other language. I cannot teach you the whole language in one blog, but maybe I can clear up one of the more common terms that people have problems with, wifi.
Most people have heard the term wifi, but still have no clue what it really means. People assume that like other confusing terms wifi is short for something. That is not the case. Wifi has never been short for anything. It is simply a term used for the universal standard used to send wireless signals. Wireless standard is IEEE 802.11. This refers to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard for sending wireless signal. There are now letters attached at the back of IEEE 802.11. These indicate a larger data sending capacity which translates to a faster connection for you. The most current standard is IEEE 802.11n.
Now that I have given you a bunch of technical jargon that you don't understand or care about let me see if I can put it in English for you. Basically a wireless device takes the signal it receives and turns it into radio waves. It then broadcasts these radio waves so that another wireless device can pick them up. The wireless device that picks the radio waves up translates them back into a language that the computer can understand. So you are basically just sending and receiving radio waves.
You basically need three things in order to make wifi happen in your life. You need an internet connection that makes a signal to translate. You need a wireless router to translate the signal into radio waves, and you need a computer with a wireless device to pick up the radio waves and translate them into computer language. If you are missing one of those then you cannot have wifi. Yes it can be confusing, and no it is not easy the first time you deal with it. However, just like learning a language if you start at the beginning and take it one step at a time you can do this, or you could always just get someone who is ten to do it for you, they are all computer literate.
More Options Than Answers
So you have already had the desktop vs. laptop debate, with yourself, your friends, your spouse, your kids, and everyone else who would hold still. You have chosen laptop. You are sure of your decision and confident that you will find just the right machine for you. The research begins online, and that is when you run into the problem. Now you have been inundated with a whole new set of options. You have run into terms like netbook, notebook, tablet, and laptop. Calm down, take a breath, and before you alienate everyone who is your friend on facebook let me see if I can make things a little clearer.
The best thing to understand is that a lot of these terms have become somewhat interchangeable so there are not black and white definitions that everyone agrees on. Now that I have scared you more let me reassure you there are some standards. Laptops, notebooks and netbooks are all defined as having screens and keyboards attached with hinges. So anything you open and see a screen and keyboard is one of those three things. A tablet is a different creature. This is just a screen, and they mainly run on app style programming. There was a time when tablets even ran on different operating systems than other computers. They are getting more mainstream. They now run on traditional operating systems, however, they still have computing limitations. These are a good option if you run your life with apps, and are addicted to your smart phone. If you are limited in your technological abilities, and just made a confused face when you read the word apps, then this is probably not the machine for you.
Now laptop, notebook, and netbook are differentiated by size going from the biggest to the smallest. Laptops are traditionally the biggest machines physically as well as having the biggest computing power. This term is still used for the biggest and baddest computing machines. The big gaming machines are still considered laptops. Then we have notebooks which are smaller with a smaller price tag, but the trade off is that they did not have the big computing power. Now, however, unless you are running huge game programs the lines have really blurred. There are lots of machines in mid price ranges that have excellent computing power with exactly the size, screen, and weight you are looking for. Now netbooks are still a different creature, although even this line is starting to blur. Netbooks are much smaller and are not actually meant for full computing functionality. They run on smaller operating systems and do not have the space for large program installations. They were mainly meant for internet and email use at their inception. They do tend to run quite a bit cheaper, so if that is all you intend to do that may be a good way to go.
Now that I have filled your head with a ton of technical stuff that you don't really understand I am going to tell you again, relax. This is easier than it sounds, and you can do it. The names mean very little. What matters is that you get a machine that does what you need it to do. Make a list of all the things you do on your computer and the programs that you cannot live without. Now go to a computer store that you can trust, or take a computer literate friend with you shopping. Get something that works for you and then give a name you can remember and enjoy, like Ginger or Shadow.
Wireless Without Worries
You want to be able to relax on the couch and read email, shop online, and watch Netflix. Your kids want to go to their rooms and use their laptops to chat with friends and play online games. Your spouse wants to lie in bed and check new feeds and weather before turning in for the night. What no one wants to do is run Ethernet cable through the entire house so everyone can be connected in different rooms. The obvious solution is to use a wireless signal through a router. This is a great technology that makes life easier and more enjoyable for everyone. It can also open your family up to all kinds of dangers.
We have all heard the stories about viruses, spyware, and identity theft, but the danger can be even greater. If someone else is using your wireless signal you can be responsible for everything they are doing on the internet. This could range from pirating software to illegal pornography. Proving that you are not responsible for what is done on your wireless connection is a mess that you do not want to get into. There are some ways you can help protect yourself and your family at home as well as when you are using complimentary wifi on the road.
Start with security on all the computers that your family owns. There needs to be a current anti-virus program, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, installed on each computer that is set to scan at least once a week. Then you need to have a firewall that is turned on, this comes with Windows and your computer will usually warn you every time you turn on your computer if it is turned off. You can get instructions on how to turn the firewall on from here. Then you need to set your network sharing settings so that other people cannot access your personal files even if they are using the same wireless network. This procedure is different depending on the version of Windows, but if you search,” Setting up Sharing on Windows” it will show you the procedures for the version you are using.
Now that your computers are secure you need to think about securing the wireless network in your home. Depending on the strength of internet signal and the strength of your router you could be broadcasting a wireless internet signal several hundred feet on all sides of your house. This means your neighbors, nearby businesses, and even strangers parked on the street can use your wireless for anything they want. The protection is to use a password for your wireless router. Your router should have come with instructions helping you to set up a secure network. If you cannot get the system to work for you then call tech support for your router and have them walk you through the process. You protect your family in dozens of other ways; don’t leave them vulnerable while they are on the internet. Take a few simple steps and safeguard the people you love from strangers trying to invade their privacy and steal their lives. Now you can lie on the couch and shop till you drop without worrying.
Get the Junk Out
When was the last time you saw the floor of your garage? Is your basement starting to overflow with things you don't even remember buying? Most of us have piles of junk cluttering up our lives. These days that junk usually contains electronics. Believe it or not there are easy, earth friendly, economical ways to get rid of all that electronic junk that is doing such a good job collecting your dust.
Now I am not a chain myself to a tree environmentalist but there several good reasons that you shouldn't dump your electronics in the trash or leave them rotting in your basement. Even today's safer electronics contain corrosive metals and chemicals that can seep into soil, groundwater, and even the walls of your house. These metals and chemicals can poison water, destroy soil usability and make your family ill. Besides if you think that junk looks awful in your garage you can imagine how much worse it looks in a landfill.
So do something good with your old electronics. Most electronics stores have some sort of recycling program. Some of these require you to pay for your stuff to be recycled, but there are some other options that are free and some that may even proof profitable. Twice a year the Sedalia community holds a hazardous waste drop off on the fairgrounds. They do this once in the spring and once in the fall, but there are some restrictions about the types of products they take in. The restrictions change from year to year and may not always be what you need to get rid of.
There is a program that allows you to get rid of your old junk and earn credit toward new junk. This website allows you to enter details about the old electronics you want to get rid of, and they will pay for the shipping, give you a value, and then send you a gift card for the purchase of something that you can't live without now that will end in your garage next year.
So even if you aren't an environmentalist do something nice for your planet, your garage, and yourself. Find a way to recycle those old electronics and maybe you will even be a step closer to your new electronic gadget.
To Buy or Not to Buy
The weather is beautiful, and you have been out enjoying it. There have been cookouts, picnics, afternoons in the park, and general outdoor frivolity. There is a day rapidly approaching that you have managed to ignore. Yes, sooner than you think could be possible, your children will be on summer vacation. There will be children from five to twenty-five roaming around looking for entertainment of some kind to fill the summer hours. It is even possible that the entertainment will be found on the computer. Now give some thought to how many computers there are in your house, and how many people will want to use them. If you do this math and come up with a huge fight scenario in your head then maybe it is time to invest in another computer. If you are the child instead of the parent don’t surf off to another site just yet. There may be some valuable information that can be used to convince your parents that another computer is not just an expense but an affordable necessity.
The truth is that computers are not the huge investment that they used to be. There are more options than there ever were to fill the computing needs of the whole family. There are small internet specific computers, sometimes called Netbooks, which can be purchased for less than two hundred dollars. There are many reliable options for used desktops as well as laptops starting at one hundred dollars. If you go the used route, make sure you buy from a reputable local company that can address any issues that might arise. As long as you take precautions and are careful, used machines can make excellent extra machines when there are more people than computers.
Even new machines are not the expense that they used to be. There are options for reliable machines, which will accomplish all the tasks that you need and fit into a small budget. Remember to consider what you will do with the machine before you start shopping. Do some research before you shop to familiarize yourself with the terms and the options. When you shop be firm about what you need and don’t buy more just because a salesman tells you to. Buying a new computer doesn’t have to be a chore, it could actually be a joy, and not hearing the fights over the one computer you have all summer will certainly be a joyLaptop vs. Desktop
So the thing you have always dreaded has happened, your computer is dead. It can no longer be repaired, and now you have to get a new one. This is where the questions start. What brand is the best, how big should the hard drive be, how much memory is needed, and what kind of peripherals should I expect to be included. These are very valuable questions, but they are a topic for another blog. Today we are facing the universal question that falls into all computer buyers lives. Do you buy a laptop or desktop?
For some people the answer is fairly obvious. If you need to use your computer when you travel, then obviously laptop, but if all you do is email at home, your most obvious answer is desktop. The decision has become more complex for others. Now that there isn’t a huge price difference more and more people are looking at laptops. There are pros and cons for each type and if they are weighed carefully against your needs the decision can be made easier.
Laptops have several issues that should be considered. It is much more difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade the hardware in a laptop, therefore, what you buy is what you will have until you buy something new. Laptops have portability, but because of that they are much more prone to accidental damage, and they have a shorter lifespan. Laptops include keyboard, screen, and mouse all in one package, but if something goes out it will be much more expensive to replace.
Desktops are much easier to upgrade, and are less prone to damage, so they have a much longer lifespan. However, you also have to buy screens, keyboard, and a mouse separately, and that can get costly. The other side of desktops is that they go in one place, and short of major redecorating, they don’t move from that spot. This means you are limited in where they can be used, as well as collecting massive amounts of dust all around them. Also consider that desktops are still slightly cheaper than laptops for the hardware that you get with them.
So consider when and where you will use it, how long you want to keep it, and how much space you have. Given all these factors the decision should be a little easier. No matter what you decide remember to get a warranty and always take good care of your computer and it will take care of you.
Spring is in the air, and you know what that means. Ok maybe you don’t, but for some people it means spring cleaning. Washing windows, organizing the garage, and getting rid of months worth of dust. Dust is mostly just annoying but it can carry germs that make you sick, and it can also make your computer sick.
Computers suck in and blow out air all day long. When you combine this with the electrical charge they become magnets for every particle of dust in your house. This dust then lays like a thermal blanket over all the components in your computer. These components are designed to run at a certain maximum temperature. Unlike your body, when your computer overheats it can’t start sweating, there is no release for all that heat. It simply builds up until the components fry and your computer dies an untimely death.
Don’t start planning the funeral yet, all is not lost. There is a simple fix for the dust problem. The same way you rid of dust in your house, clean it up. Use canned compressed air to blow your machine out thoroughly on a regular basis. Use plain water on a soft cloth to clean the screen, and window cleaner on a soft cloth to clean all the other parts.
I know what you’re thinking but I never said it would be easy, just simple. Cleaning is work no matter where you are chasing the dust from. However, the consequences for not cleaning your computer regularly are much worse than not washing those windows. Don’t let your computer die an untimely death. Blow out the dust and save money, time, and lots of agony.
The Unexpected Happens
Snow storms happen in March, tires go flat, kids get sick, and computers will break down. I know this is true because today my kids have the flu, I am watching a snow storm out the window and I have seen a dozen broken computers. When you spend your time working with broken computers you learn how fragile they actually are.
There are many things that can threaten your computer. Viruses, power surges, and faulty hardware can all cause damage at any time, and anything that causes damage can cause data loss. So all those pictures that you have been saving for years, all of your financial data, the research you spent two weeks doing for the paper that is due in two days and everything else you value so much is at risk of being permanently lost. On a daily basis we spend hours trying to retrieve data from computers that are never going to run again.
So what is the answer to the problem? The answer can be found in one word, back-up. The need to back-up your data cannot be overstated. Anything that you value needs to be protected, and that includes the data on your computer. There are many easy ways to do it, and it is well worth the time and effort that it takes.
Some of your back-up options are:
- USB drives
- External hard drives
- Online back-up services
- Tape back-up
- DVD or CD
The method you use depends on the amount of data that you have as well as the amount of money that you want to spend. Come in and talk to a tech and we can point you in the right direction. The point is that there is a method that will fit your needs, and the alternative is as miserable as a snow storm in March while your kids have the flu.
Computers + Electricity = Disaster
Every day we plug in our computers, smart phones, mp3 players, and iPads. Obviously there has to be electricity or we couldn’t have all the fun computerized gadgets. There are times, however, when electricity can destroy the very same gadgets that it helps to power.
Spring storms may bring spring flowers but they also bring power outages and surges. These can be dangerous for your computer and your data. Imagine with me for a moment. It is a dark and stormy night and you are working furiously at your computer on something that has to be done by 8 a.m., and of course it is already midnight. Lightning cracks across the sky the power blinks off one, twice, and then goes out completely. At this point your choices are panic, cry, and hope you know someone who will come out at midnight in the rain to help you. There is a better way to live.
There is a device known as an uninterruptable power supply, or, more simply, a battery backup. This device can help to prevent the tears. You plug your electronic devices into the battery backup and plug the backup into the wall. The backup provides surge protection for those spikes in power that go along with power outages, and they provide you time. The backup will run your electronics for anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes depending on the unit, and this lets you save that document that you have so lovingly been crafting, so that it is not lost in an electronic void. The surge protection will also prevent surges from frying your electronics and costing you hundreds of dollars in repair or replacement.
Battery backups come in a range of sizes, power capacities, and prices depending on the size of your computer system. We would be happy to walk you through all the options and evaluate your personal needs. So, come by and talk to Jessica and spend your spring smelling the flowers, not crying over your electronics.
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