Computer Care: When switching phones, consider price and coverage

	By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: November 25, 2011 11:00 p.m. As my cell phone contract is about to expire, I find many options before me. I can stay with my existing service provider and retain my current phone or I can try a new company. Either way, I'm eligible to get a free or discounted device with my promise to stay for 24 months. Mobile, or wireless technology is changing faster than the temperature these days. My 2-year-old once high-tech smartphone is so outdated that it will now bring no more than $50 on the Internet. The choices are abundant. There are great phones from manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, LG, BlackBerry and Apple. Operating systems on the phones come down to Android or Windows on most, while Apple and BlackBerry have their own proprietary software. For decades, I have used and supported Windows on my computers, but when it comes to smartphones, I have to go with the competition. I use Windows Mobile 6.5 on my current HTC phone, but tire of it freezing and not responding as it should. The Android phones I have tried are so much more responsive and the iPhone, well it's in a class by itself. Its interface is superb, but without a discount (of which Apple has none), it is also priced beyond what most of us want to pay for a wireless phone. Occasionally though, when Apple releases new models like the iPhone 4S, the 3G is offered for free or discounted with that omnipresent new two-year contract. There are two main considerations when switching phones or carriers: What can you afford and how is the coverage in your area? Pull up the service provider's coverage map, not of Georgia, but of your neighborhood. Look carefully to see if you get both voice and data where you live. Find out about roaming and long distance fees and if you're charged for activation and porting your number. Look at the plans and compare. Determine your budget and choose from the plethora of plans offered. Often Family Plans are the best bet if you have more than one device. Text messaging and voicemail may or may not be a part of any plan, so be sure to ask. With most smartphones, there is still the need for a data plan to supplement whatever voice/messaging plan you may have. Ask your provider to be sure, under what category your specific phone falls. With some phones without a data plan, you can still access the Web and your email if the device has Wi-Fi capabilities. You can connect to your home network with it. With other phones, you can use them as a hotspot, tethering the phone to connect your computer to the Internet. There are two networks to choose from when it comes to wireless phones: GSM, which AT&T and T-Mobile uses and CDMA, used by Verizon, Metro PCS and Sprint. Globally, GSM is an older, more dominant standard and works in more foreign markets than does CDMA, but both work well here. Resellers like Boost Mobile who use the Sprint network and PagePlus who use Verizon's network, abound. There are caveats though to consider with discounted providers. If you are a PagePlus customer for example, even though you access the Verizon network, when an issue arises, PagePlus alone will deal with it. Metro PCS and PagePlus don't require any contracts, but the former charges more for their phones while the latter asks for payment up-front on their plans. Generally, you may save a buck or two on devices and rates through resellers (especially if you go with a pre-pay plan), but you forfeit the high speeds and local support which are reserved for the owners of the networks. Your father was right: You get what you pay for. No matter how well any phone works at the store and how much you like it, ask if you can return or exchange it within a week's time without any penalty. It may not work as well at your house. Cellular signals are line-of-sight. If there are obstructions in or near your home, the signal may be less than optimal. Things to consider such as hilly neighborhoods, tin roofs, metal studs in your walls, and electronic devices may cause interference. Often, you'll discover the best deals online. You have to do all the work, but by not using a person to assist you, discounts are the reward. You may come across an Internet-only rate as well as phones not offered in the stores. We have gone from bag to belt phones; from typing commands to voice recognition. Now, programming your phone is passé. You need only speak what you want your phone to do. The new iPhone, with its dual processor and gigabyte of RAM, has more power than some laptops that I've recently worked on. As a techie, I require state-of-the-art and believe my next handheld wireless device will be an iPhone. I can only wonder if my next laptop will be a Mac. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page.

Computing Tips

[Although this is my 100th column in the Times, this blog is missing a few of my earlier published pieces; the reason why the numbers don't jive.....FYI - ag]

Computer Care: Revisiting some key tips on column No. 100

By Arthur Glazer

glazer.tech@gmail.com

POSTED: November 12, 2011 1:00 a.m.

When I began writing this column back in 2007, it was sporadic at best. My intent was to assist the novice computer user and not have it sound like a manual. I strayed from that format a few times by expressing my opinions while maligning Vista or praising Windows 7, and I've discussed technology in general many times.

This being my 100th Computer Care column in the Times, I wanted to go back to where I began. So here are 10 useful tips that everyone should be able to appreciate, whether a novice or seasoned user, whether using Windows XP, Vista or 7.

It's always a good idea prior to making any changes to your system, to create a system restore point first. In XP, it's in Accessories under System Tools. In Vista and Win 7, just do a search for it.

Change a desktop icon. If you're tired of looking at the same manila folder icon all over your desktop, change some of them. Right-click on the icon to modify, click on "Properties," choose the "Customize" tab and then click the "Change Icon" button. Pick one from the library or browse to one of your own.

Change a desktop image. In XP, right-click on your desktop, go to "Properties," and then to the "Desktop" tab and choose an image from the list. In Vista/Win 7, right-click the desktop and choose "Personalize," then click on "Desktop Background."

Adjust a power scheme. In XP, again right-click the desktop and choose "Properties." This time go to the "Screen Saver" tab and click the "Power" button. From there you can adjust when the system sleeps or turns off.

In Vista, go to Control Panel, then to Power Options. In Win 7, type "Power" in the search box and from the options, create or edit a power plan.

Unlock the desktop icons. To be able to reorder the icons to your liking, right-click on the desktop in all versions of Windows. In XP, choose "Arrange Icons By," and uncheck the "Auto Arrange" option. In Vista/7 choose "View," and uncheck the same.

Choose which application opens what file. To change this, simply right-click the icon of the file in question and go to "Open With." If for example, Windows uses Picture Viewer or Paintshop to open an image and you want to use Photoshop, from "Open With," navigate to Photoshop. Click "Apply" and "OK." There is also a box to check that keeps this option should you want to keep using Photoshop.

How to save ink. Most printer software has options to change the paper size, paper type and quality of the print. Photo printing uses the most ink; the draft option uses the least amount.

Put web shortcuts on your desktop. From an open browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome), reduce the size to half and drag the icon from in front of the address in the address bar to your desktop. Do this by holding the left mouse button down while dragging. If the name of the shortcut is too long, right-click the new icon and "Rename" it. If you created a shortcut from Firefox, but Chrome is your default browser, the icon will be that of Chrome.

Tidy up your desktop. If you have all types of icons all over your desktop, here's an easy way to organize it. Right-click the desktop and choose "New," then "Folder." Call it what you want. I have one for PDF files, one for Utilities and one I call "Closet," for miscellaneous junk without a home.

Right-click and "Rename" the new folders to call them what you want. The simply drag your scattered files to their respective new folders.

Pin items to your taskbar. XP has a Quick Launch bar near the Start Button on the Taskbar. If it isn't enabled, right-click on the taskbar, click "Toolbars," and then click Quick Launch. To add items just drag them from the desktop to that area of the taskbar, copying them. They are always seen (thus Quick Launch).

Vista and Win 7 uses the same concept, but uses full-size icons in the taskbar. Right-click and choose "pin" or "unpin" on the icons on the bar.

Refresh system memory. Even when computer programs are closed, not all of the memory used is released. There are utilities that refresh the memory at the click of a button, but they're not included in Windows. What you can do is simply reboot the system: Turn it off and then on again. The RAM will be refreshed and you'll be able to access all that there is, making your system run faster.

Use the last tip for trying to fix anything that ails your system. Often a simple reboot fixes many little things in a computer. It may even stop the dreaded blue screen error messages, although they usually demand more attention.

When in doubt, reboot. It certainly couldn't hurt.

Keep those emails coming, and thanks for reading.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Computer Care: Scrub unused programs off your PC

	By Arthur Glazer POSTED: October 29, 2011 1:00 a.m. Twice annually, I swap out the clothes in my closet. I tend to have a larger collection of shirts than most guys, since my wife owns a clothing store. To make room for sweaters, I need to pack away my tropical shirts. It was also time for me to swap out computer programs on my laptop. As with the shirts, I tend to have more applications than the average guy, being the techno-geek that I am. I do a lot of downloading and experimenting; I need to test the waters so I can report to you if a program is worth having or not. The trouble is, it catches up with me on occasion and on this occasion I found about a dozen apps I no longer use, need or want. Everybody has them: outdated utilities, old kids' games and programs you tried but never used. My experience has showed me that although with good intentions, most people don't correctly remove unwanted programs from their computers. Programs are all over your hard drive. An installed application goes to the Windows program files folder, the start menu, the desktop and to the system registry. Removing an application from one of those locations may stop Windows from loading it, but that will cause other issues by leaving fragments behind. That leads to corruption. When a system looks for something that isn't there it goes into brain-lock. You can first see if the program in question has its own uninstaller. That's the best one to use. If not, use the one included in Windows. In XP, go to the Start menu and then click on Control Panel, then "Add/Remove Programs." Just follow the prompts from there. In Vista or Windows 7, type, "remove" or "uninstall" in the search box and then click on the link to "Add or remove a program." Alternatively, look for "Programs" or "Programs and Features" in Control Panel and follow the links and directions provided after that to uninstall a program. I like to use a third-party uninstaller, mainly because it cleans up after itself. First, it will try to remove the program using the application's own uninstallation utility. If not there, it will use other methods. Then it will flush the system registry of any remnants that reference the program. At this point, you need to remember to restart system. Your program will then be gone. If you have many to remove, uninstall them one at a time and reboot after each one. It's time-consuming, but worth the effort. If you take shortcuts with something like this, it will come back later to bite you. There is a plethora of uninstallers that you can download, many of them free. As always, I recommend download.com as a source. You not only get a reputable program from them, but you know if it is a free, trial or paid version of the product. You also get ratings and comments, not just from the editors of the site (who are unbiased for the most part) but also from users like you and me. There are similar sites, including filehippo.com, majorgeeks.com, freewarefiles.com andpcworld.com that offer files to download. All of these sites are supposed to be clean (virus-free), but it's always a good idea to scan any incoming files to prevent a system infection. The apps that I've tested and liked are available in both free and paid versions. They include: Your Uninstaller, Revo Uninstaller, Advanced Uninstaller, Iobit Uninstaller and Ashampoo Uninstaller. Many utility suites, system optimizers and registry cleaners have uninstallers incorporated in them, as with the cases of Advanced System Care and CCleaner. Programs like Your Uninstaller have various methods to try to remove an app, including using force if necessary. It even has a "hunter" mode that will erase the program from its desktop icon. If your program remover doesn't check your registry, make sure you then use a separate registry cleaner after you uninstall your programs. If the cleaner asks you questions, go with the default choice. When in doubt, don't delete a value if you are not sure about it. This is where you should reboot the computer and then set a system restore point when it comes back. Should something go wrong down the road, that restore point is where you want to go back to. It used to be that only junk programs were free; not so anymore. Even if the one you want is not free, you can usually use it (full-feature) for a week or two before deciding to either buy or toss it. That brings me back where I began. I tend to let those unused apps pile up. Now my closet and laptop are both clean. The computer runs faster and there is less clutter on my desktop since removing all those apps I thought I couldn't live without. I don't miss those unused programs, but I sure do miss my tropical shirts. It's going to be a long winter. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com. glazer.tech@gmail.com

Computer Care: We love our gadgets, but sometimes too much

By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: October 15, 2011 1:00 a.m.

Everything we use is getting smaller. We now hook our gadgets to our belts or put them in our pockets or purses. The bag cell phone of the early nineties is finally smaller than Captain Kirk's communicator.

Whether your communicator has a touch screen or a slide-out keyboard, it is still quite diminutive in comparison to what we've used in the past.

The average smartphone of today has more capabilities than the computers aboard the Mercury space flights of the '60s.

The computer has gone from our desks to our laps and now to our ears. We lost the mouse and full-size keyboard, but many other features remain the same. We still browse the Internet and check our email. That is what most of us do regardless of the size of the device. As its size got smaller, its intelligence has grown and ours seems to have decreased.

What I don't understand is where we use it, and why. It's bad enough to come across a driver not paying attention to the road due to texting, but checking email is another matter altogether.

Sure, I get email, lots of it. However, I can wait until I get home to check it. I tell my clients that I only check my mail twice daily and that if they really need to reach me to send a short text or call.

The world has become such an impersonal, selfish place. With the influx of these omnipresent gadgets, we're turning it into an uncivilized society. People carry on conversations in the streets and in stores not with those they see, but with those they hear.

My wife was recently ringing out a customer at her store and tried to tell her how much her purchase was. The woman snapped at my wife that she was on the phone. Really?

There needs to be a modicum of civility to using smartphones. Speaking loudly in public to your spouse on the phone is impolite. Texting and answering emails while with friends is rude and doing it behind the wheel is dangerous.

Teens need to learn early on that just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be done. Parents aren't always there to say, "It's inconsiderate to others. Turn it off."

We've all heard that ubiquitous buzz from three rows behind us in the theater, or that annoying glow from three rows in front.

People tend to speak more loudly on their cells than they usually do. When in a booth at a small restaurant or on a line somewhere, it can get quite annoying to the ones around them.

Many are unaware of their behavior. Others simply don't care.

I usually don't rant here, but this has been festering in me for some time. How would you like it if I said you have to go check your horoscope for a minute while I respond to a text message?

Go now. Read something on the next page. I'll be right back.

It may sound discourteous and inappropriate, but that is the equivalent of what is happening. The use of small electronics has turned us into a rude society.

The PC police won't ever tell you that what you're doing is wrong. Let your conscience tell you that.

I'm all for technological advancements, small gadgets and mobile computing. They are great. It's just that we live in a civilized society and while a part of that, there are certain unwritten rules to follow.

While speaking of small electronics, I would be remiss not to mention the recent passing of the great computer genius, Steve Jobs. Although I never got around to buying any Apple products, I've always admired the man and his contributions to society.

Always the PC guy, I've never had the pleasure of owning an iMac. My kids can't believe I don't have an iPod or use iTunes. My wife thinks I need an iPad and my clients are amazed to discover I don't use an iPhone. All in good time, I suppose.

Jobs had an avid imagination, an eye for design and with desire and expertise, he put them together into the techno-toys we all know and love. His contributions to the computer industry are immeasurable.

He started out in his garage building computers; went on to work in the movies with Pixar and Buzz Lightyear and was the cornerstone of Apple, who put miniscule computer gadgets in our pockets.

Imagine what the world would be like without the devices Jobs made for us.

Imagine what else he could have done for us had he lived on.

To infinity and beyond, Steve.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Computer Care: Tune up your computer to make it run like new again

	By Arthur Glazer glazer.tech@gmail.com POSTED: October 1, 2011 11:38 a.m. Just because your computer is 4 or even 6 years old, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to replace it. If you see more blue screens than desktops, or you still have an operating system from the last century, your computer is indubitably a candidate for replacement. However, considering the economy we are in, it may be more prudent to replace your brakes or tires before getting a new computer, especially if it still works. For the rest of you, let’s talk. There‘s no reason why, with regular maintenance, you can’t keep an older computer running, dare I say, even fast. Just because your computer doesn’t have the latest version of Windows or your hard drive is full, that’s no reason to upgrade. With a little bit of work and even less money, you can resurrect your aging computer. Hard drives have grown in size over years. Five years ago, a 160-gigabyte drive was the standard; now it’s 500 GB to a TB (a terabyte equals 1,000 GB). Your aging drive may be near full by now. Windows requires free disk space to write temporary files in order for it to run properly. These files accumulate over time and need to be deleted regularly. Transfer your photos, videos and movies to an archival drive, to the cloud or burn them to DVDs. You may keep that drive in your desktop, but use it as a storage drive. Buy a new, larger drive and use it as your system drive, moving Windows to it. With a laptop, I put my older, smaller drives in external, USB-connected cases, replacing them with larger drives in the laptop. If you have an older computer, you may have only 512 MB of RAM (system memory) installed. Systems with integrated video cards share the RAM, making it even less. Thought to be sufficient at the time, that small amount isn’t capable of handling today’s applications — not with any speed, anyway. The single most cost-effective improvement you can do is add more RAM to your computer. A gigabyte of RAM might cost only $40, much less than when your computer was new. Websites like memory.com and crucial.com will scan your system, telling you how much RAM you have, what your system can handle, and what it will cost. You can install it yourself or if you have doubts, a technician like me could do it for you. If you’ve already had to repair your computer a few times, instead of fixing the errors, erase them. By reinstalling Windows, you will have the computer you had when you brought it home from the store. Since you know more now than you did then, it will be faster. You’ll have more memory and a clean hard drive. Keep watch on the startup folder: you can stop unnecessary programs from loading with Windows when it boots up. This is a major cause of sluggish systems. Applications that you don’t use daily often boot with Windows. If you remove them (programs like iTunes, Skype, AOL, Messenger various schedulers and updaters), not only will your computer boot faster, but it will also run faster. This won’t remove them from your computer, only from the startup folder. There’s another option to consider. If the problem is not with the hardware or if you can’t put your hands on that old XP disk, then consider upgrading your operating system. If you had XP, get Windows 7. Don’t waste your time with Vista, even if you could find it somewhere. It’s better to spend a couple of hundred bucks on an OS upgrade, than $500 or more on a new computer if you really don’t need it, or can’t afford it. However, should you need to go that route; you’ll get that new Win 7 anyway. You might as well learn how to take care of your computer; it’s not going anywhere. Just like your car, it requires twice-annual maintenance. Just as you rotate the tires, change the oil and tune it up, check for viruses, defrag your hard drive and tune it up. Some things to consider as regular maintenance should include: checking the registry’s integrity, defragmenting the hard drive and running Chkdsk to check the file structure. Also, clean dust from the fans and motherboard. Scans should include virus and malware detection. Just in case, also create regular restore points, backup the data you don’t want to lose and have a system backup or even clone your hard drive. Some of these will help extend the life of the computer, while others will allow you continue with your data in another system should the original fail. With proper care, just like with cars, you can get a lot more mileage from your old system. Your computer, like rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.