Should You Buy an iPad?

Many of my clients that have an iPhone and an iPad are having buyer's remorse. The major difference between an iPhone and an iPad is the size of the screen and the ability to act as a cellphone and folks who have bought both are finding that this may not be enough to justify having both an iPhone and an iPad. Task iPhone iPad Read books √ √ Cellphone √ X Email √ √ Browse Internet √ √ (larger display) Add Additional Storage Capacity X X USB Port X X Connect to Internet via WiFi √ √ Print √ √ If you have an iPhone, you might consider deferring your purchase of an iPad-like device until major players such as Samsung...

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Bad News for Blackberry Users and Syncing to Entourage

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Does Your Blackberry Freeze Sometimes?

Here are a couple of things you can try to fix the problem:  Did you lock your keyboard by pressing the lock button? When you press the lock button again, does the screen remain blank? Try pressing the escape key (it looks like a u-turn) to force the display to re-appear. Then try pressing the lock button again. Do you see an error message about an uncaught trap? In the body of the message may be a cryptic reference to the program that caused the problem. In my case it was the Blackberry Messenger Application. I deleted the application, the uncaught trap message went away, and my Blackberry stopped freezing. Re-loading Blackberry Messenger should fix the problem. When you move from one...

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Carbonite - Friend or Foe?

Is installing Carbonite the best backup and recovery strategy for your computer? What do you want to back up? Pictures Documents Emails Address Book Memos Tasks Calendar For the first two items on the list, pictures and documents, Carbonite does a pretty good job. For the rest of the items on the list, however, their integration with Outlook can present a problem. If you are like me, Outlook is always up and running. Unless Outlook is shut down, Carbonite cannot back up the rest of the types of files on the list because Outlook is using them and has them "locked". To ensure Carbonite or an other backup program you use is able to access all your Outlook stuff, you need to export the contents...

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Is Your TV Connected to the Internet? How to Stream Movies from Netflix

Instead of renting movies from a store, the world seems to have gone to downloading and playing movies over the Internet; the major player in this market is Netflix. What equipment is necessary to download and play movies from Netflix? If you only want to watch movies on your laptop or desktop, all you need is a high speed Internet connection.If you prefer to watch movies on your TV, you must enable your TV-Internet connection. Here are three ways to do this:If your television has a built-in network interface card, connecting a cable (Cat5e) from your DSL/Cable Modem or router is a matter of finding a cable long enough to reach the television from the DSL/Cable Modem or router. If your television...

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Can I Really Make My PC Run Faster, Like it Says on the TV Commercial?

Can downloading a program from the Internet make a slow computer run like new? Here is what happens when you download and install the software for free:  A scan uncovers hundreds, if not thousands of problems. To fix the problems, you must get your credit card out and click the link in order to purchase the debugging software. After purchasing the software and running another scan, all your problems are fixed. When running the software on a brand new computer, I would expect few, if any problem. A scan uncovered hundreds of problems. Running software packages I recommend and trust, no errors were uncovered....

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The Droid - Better Than an iPhone?

With three months' experience using a Droid 2, what have we learned? The Droid platform is for users who like to browse the Internet. The  phone has the same iPhone feature of changing from portrait to landscape display by rotating the phone. With the lack of a  method of syncing your calendar, contacts, memos and tasks with Outlook, the phone is not suited as well for business users.  Here is a list of specific issues regarding the Droid phone:             The Droid platform is very iPhone like, but lacks the maturity of the iPhone. We would describe the phone as having been developed by a group of smart engineers who...

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Which Cellphone Should You Buy?

There basically are two types of cellphones: Smartphones and standard cellphones Smartphones can access the Internet and can send and receive email. Standard cellphones can initiate and receive phone calls and send and receive text messages. If you don't care about email or browsing the Internet, a standard cellphone is right for you. If, however, you need a Smartphone, be aware that there are two basic Smartphone types: Smartphones that browse the Internet well (iPhone, Droid). Smartphones that send and receive email well and synchronize your email extremely well with Outlook (Blackberry). iPhones and Droids can send and receive email, but do not integrate as well with Outlook as a Blackberry...

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Check out my @constantcontact newslet...

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How Long Does an USB Flash Drive Last?

From the AJC Aug. 1, 2010 The Help Desk I do not trust a flash drive with any important data. Some flash drives claim they can survive up to 10,000 accesses; others - usually cheaper - can only handle 1,000 accesses. As far as a lifespan in years, I've seen 10 mentioned quite often. But keep in mind that is (1) pretty much a guess and (2) an average. So some lasted longer and others died sooner. My advise for storing critical data is to create several back-up modes, including online storage. If you do use a flash drive, store it in a cool place with low humidi...

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New post on blog reviewing Blackberry Bold 9650http://ping.fm/Nt...

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New post to blog on T Mobile cellular network and how they lied to mehttp://ping.fm/Ol...

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New post to blog on iPhone v4 upgrade failurehttp://ping.fm/Qx...

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New post to blog on using Clearhttp://ping.fm/Ko...

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Clear Hot Spot Test - Replacement for Your High Speed Internet Provider?

A client got fed up enough to try Clear in order to get rid of a failing AT&T High Speed Internet Access connection. High Tech House Calls installed the Clear Modem. The exsiting Linksys Wireless Router connected seamlessly to Clear Modem device. No programming was needed to make the Linksys Wireless Router work with the Clear Modem. The Modem was very picky about placement. The people at Clear had pointed out where the closest broadcast tower was from the clients' house. A "stand" of books were stacked one on top of another so that the Modem was sitting in front of a window on the top floor of the house facing the broadcast tower. Other locations in the house resulting in a signal that...

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iPhone v4.0 Upgrade Failures

High Tech House Calls has seen quite a lot of v4.0 upgrade failures on iPhones. Here are some facts on the upgrade process:  The process is a lengthy one and can take as long as 6 hours. It is NOT an unattended process. You must answer questions during the upgrade. Therefore, starting the process before going to bed and expecting it to be complete when you wake up is not going to happen. How do you tell if the upgrade was successful? Go to Settings, then General and then About. If the version displayed is not 4.0, the upgrade did not succee...

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Blackberry Bold 9650 - Good Enough Not To Switch to iPhone?

For approximately the last two years, High Tech House Calls has been using a Blackberry Curve smartphone. We wanted an iPhone, but our hatred of AT&T precluded that choice. The Curve's access to the internet was minimal. You could read a phone number of the heading of a match found by Google, but actually reading webpages was out of the questions. With our switch to Verizon, we purchased new cellphones. Enter, the Blackberry Bold.  The Bold can actually display readable webpages. The cellphone does not have the ability to display a larger sized page via landscape mode like the iPhone, but this cellphone is usable as a way to surf the web...

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T-Mobile Lied to Me

We have been a very loyal T-Mobile cellphone customer for at least 10 years. None of our three lab locations (Virginia Highlands, Buckhead or Smyrna) have had a cell signal strong enough to send and receive cell phone calls. T-Mobile indicated that since my plan had roaming included, I was always connected to the strongest signal regardless of who the carrier was. The conclusion was, it was bad luck that all my lab locations had poor cell coverage from all the cellular providers. High Tech House Calls changed to Verizon for all our cellphone needs. We have "3 bar" signal strength throughout the lab. The test for signal strength used similar model Blackberry models that should have eliminated...

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Buy a Mac for College, Get an Free iPod Touch

Time for a new computer for your school kid? Choose your Mac.If you’re a college student or a faculty or staff member at any grade level and you buy a new Mac with Apple education pricing from May 25 through September 7, 2010, you can get a free 8GB iPod touch.* No wonder they call these the best years of your life. Click here for more information: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/campaigns/back_to_sch...

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Saving Money With Groupons

What is a Groupon?Each day, Groupon features an unbeatable deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in your city. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon get discounts you won't find anywhere else. We call it "collective buying power!"  How It WorksEach day Groupon features something cool to do at an unbeatable price. You only get it if enough people join that day… so invite your friends! Check back the next day for another awesome Groupon! FAQS Do I have to sign up a group of people I know to get the deal?Nope - our millions of members make up a big enough group. You'll probably want to invite people anyway, though — Groupons are fun to use with...

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New post to blog on saving money on printinghttp://ping.fm/rL...

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Pay Less to Print

Before you buy a new printer, figure the cost per page.   By Jeff Bertolucci from Kiplinger's Personal Finance 07/2010 Manufacturers of inkjet printers have long used the razor-and-blades business model: The machines often cost $100 or less, but the ink cartridges can add up to two or three times that much in just one year. Now, however, increased competition and consumer outrage are writing a new chapter. Over the past year, both Lexmark and Hewlett-Packard have run ad campaigns touting low ink prices, notes Andrew Lippman, a printer analyst with Lyra Research. And Eastman Kodak's latest turnaround strategy is based on cheaper cartridges for its printer line. For example, Lexmark now...

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One of my favorite charities makes the news...http://ping.fm/cT...

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New blog post on version of Microsoft Office to buy.Home and Student vs. full featured.http://ping.fm/8j...

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New post on the importance of sync'ing your iPhone.http://ping.fm/ZD...

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The Importance of Sync'ing Your iPhone

Bad things happen if you do not sync your iPhone with your computer. When Apple discovers a problem on your iPhone's operating system or a new feature is created, a new release of the iPhone software is released. That new release is installed on your iPhone via iTunes. When you connect your iPhone to a computer, iTunes starts up and checks to see if your software is up to date. If not, it advises you of a newer release of software that is available for download and upgrade to your iPhone. Here are some thing to consider when upgrading the software on your iPhone: Stay up to date. It can be more problematic to upgrade from an older release of software to the current release. Periodic sync'ing...

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The End to Buying the Student and Teacher Edition of MS Office?

Have you decided that Microsoft Express or Windows Mail was good enough for your email needs? Did you think that buying Microsoft Office with Outlook was not necessary? Think again! Outlook Express went away with Vista. It was replaced with Windows Mail. Many users of Outlook Express that had years of email stored in folders using Outlook Express found that Windows Mail could not successfully import all their "old" email successfully. Buying Outlook and exporting to Outlook was their only Microsoft solution that worked. Windows 7 did away with Windows Mail. The solution that replaced it was Window Live. Windows Live Mail is an application that partly exists on the Microsoft web server. Whether...

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Is Your Wireless Network Secure?

If I sit in your driveway with my laptop, can I access your wireless network? Here are some giveaways that your wireless router was installed with the factory default settings: Your network name is linksys or 2wire. When I access your control panel for administrative tasks for your wireless router the password is either admin or password. Your network is unsecured. A key is not required to connect to it. What can I do from your driveway once I can connected to your network? If I can log into your control panel for administrative tasks, I can change the password for the administrator, change the network name, remove a key necessary to access your network or change the key necessary to access...

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Announcing Partnership with Cherry Systems http://ping.fm/TM...

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When should you upgrade from free to fee for photosharing sites? http://ping.fm/cf...

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Photo-Sharing Showdown

Deciding between free sites for your travel snaps is a no-risk proposition - but when should you go from free to fee? Picasa.com ($5/year) What's free: One gigabyte of combined photos and video storage (equivalent to about 500 photos); superfast slide shows; collaborative albums The Upgrade:20 gigabytes of storage (about 10,000 photos) Drawback: You can't edit photos online - a separate (but free) software download is required for each computer you want to use. Download software here. Worth It? Yes flickr.com ($25/year) What's Free: 100 megabytes of photo uploads (about 50 images) and two 90-second video uploads per month; geotagging to a world map; themed "pools" for tagged photos. The...

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Look for newsletter in your inbox. Did not see one? Send email to carlthorne@hthcatlanta.com to get o...

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Clear Wireless Networks

Do you have a need to connect to the internet from your laptop in the middle of Piedmont Park? Clear (Clear Wireless Network) may be an option. High Tech House Calls does have several clients that are using Clear and like the results so far.Clear had been targeted to the sales person who traveled and could expense the bill to the company they worked for. Clear's business model has changed somewhat and now has packages priced for the home user. Here are two concerns High Tech House Calls has with Clear: We were approached to represent their company to our clients. We asked for reference accounts that we could talk to. The answer was no. We then asked for a trial of their service so we could...

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Announcing Partnership with Cherry Systems

High Tech House Calls is pleased to announce a partnership with Cherry Systems. If your hard drive cannot be accessed because it is crashed, what are your options if the data on the hard drive cannot be replaced? Cherry Systems are experts in recovering data from hard drives and other media such as camera storage cards when conventional means fail. This service is pricey (anywhere from $750 to $1250) because the hard drive has to be disassembled in a white room environment and then read a block at a time, but if your first born's first steps or your financials for your business are recorded on that drive and there is no other copy, this may be your only option. Click here to visit their...

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Replacing the Battery for your iPod

Someone in my family got their iPod washed in the laundry by accident. Once this was discovered, the iPod was surrounded by rice to dry the circuitry out. After a couple of days, the iPod was turned on. It worked! The music was still there, but the battery would not hold much of a charge. I bought a battery replacement kit on the internet. Unfortuately, I destroyed the iPod's screen when attempting to take the back off in order to replace the battery. Learn from my mistake: Do not buy a battery kit until you have tried to take the iPod appart. If you do get the iPod apart without breaking it, you can probably replace the battery successfully. If the replacement battery website says you should...

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Coupon for upgrade to Win 7 from Vista and college kids computer tune-up in new newsletter. Save some money this mon...

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Newsletter is in the works. Look for in next couple of da...

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Win XP No Longer a Supported Operating System

After April 2010, no more maintenance will be done to the Microsoft Operating System Win XP. After April 2014, no more security patches will be created. If you love one of Microsoft's most stable operating systems and all your personal and business needs are met by this operating system, what does this announcement mean to you? You cannot easily buy a new computer pre-loaded with Win XP. You cannot easily buy Win XP software. Any new computer will probably come with Windows 7 pre-loaded. If you do not have a copy of Win XP with a valid license key, you will not be able to re-load a computer with Win XP easily. If a problem with the operating system is uncovered, a fix for that problem will...

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Time to Upgrade to Windows 7?

Microsoft's Operating System Windows 7 has been out since October 22, 2009. High Tech House Calls thinks this operating system is a big improvement over Vista and strongly encourages users of Vista to upgrade their computers to Windows 7. In general, a computer that can run Vista will have no problem running Windows 7. To make sure all your hardware will work fine, install the Windows Adviser Software from Microsoft. Here is the link to the Adviser: Windows 7 Adviser What do you need to migrate to Windows 7? copy of Windows 7 (upgrade version is fine) backup of personal data on your current computer (emails, contact list, documents, music, etc.) What if you are running Win XP? Most computers...

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Happy New Ye...

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