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2012 Resolutions – nearly new

December 15, 2011 in advice, hardware, software | Permalink

Here is that time of year again, new resolutions and some old ones that I didn’t get to.

  1. Check all UPSs (uninterruptible power supply). Make sure that only the computer and the monitor are plugged into the side that says battery and surge protection. All other things, especially printers, should only be plugged into the surge protection side. A laser printer will “kill” the UPS if it is in the battery side. Test it to see if it is still working by pulling the UPS plug out of the wall.
  2. Review data backup scheduling and locations. Make them more frequent than you want to type entries back into QuickBooks or retype all of those documents, or recover your contacts and calendar. Take backups offsite if that is important.
  3. I love sticky notes; especially the different colored ones when used on a white board. They are great for planning and linking tasks. When workers are scattered about, you have an alternative. trello.com lets you put that whiteboard and sticky notes approach on the web. So, time to test it.
  4. Scan old financial records and then pitch the paper versions. Not much more to say than to do it, just have to set aside a small block of time on a regular basis to get this done.
  5. Change to using indirect lighting for the computer at night.
  6. It may be time to put black tape over all of those blinking little lights on computers, printers, routers and other electronics. But, then I will give up that nightlight.
  7. Is it possibly the year for a tablet? Just watch the prices of the iPad competitors.
  8. Really and actually organize bookmarks/favorites and integrate them all using xmarks.com
  9. Clip and save it all, start using evernote.com
  10. Oh, and buy that best new computer, but wait until latest model is out <G>. Seriously, you buy a new computer when you realize that your time is worth more than what you waste with your slower computer, even at a dollar a day you can buy a new computer every two to four years.

Alternatives to paid software

July 11, 2011 in software | Permalink

There are times when you just don’t want to pay retail and for computer software there are often free alternatives to many of the programs you pay for. These are legitimate and often as good or even better in some situations, and this list is focusing just on Windows software this month.

So, starting with the big one, Microsoft Office. Look at LibreOffice or OpenOffice for full-blown office suites with word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, and diagramming.

Web browsers, we all know of the big three free ones, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome. But there is also Opera, a browser with a built-in email program, and Safari from Apple.

For playing a range of video, including when you get the error message from Windows Media Player about not having the right codecs (whatever they are, right?) try the VLC player from VideoLAN. For audio editing, Audacity can handle most all simple editing, including layering a few tracks together.

As an alternative to the iTunes store for music, you might want to look at Spotify, which is expanding out from Europe into the United States in the coming month(s).

Needs for Photoshop and Illustrator, can be often be met through GIMP or Inkscape, with lighter weight needs being met with Paint.NET.

And, the big category, security. For antivirus needs, especially on older PCs, try Microsoft Security Essentials. Malwarebytes is good for helping to remove intrusive search stealers. Try Recuva for recovering files that you have put in the trash and then emptied, also good for recovering files off USB drives, and even photos from camera cards, if you haven’t shot many more.

To make it really easy to install these and many others, try the installer from Ninite, www.ninite.com.

iCal upgrade, Epsilon email breach, Facebook

April 7, 2011 in privacy, software | Permalink

MobileMe iCal upgrade

On May 5, 2011, MobileMe will transition to their new Calendar service. If you sync iCal calendars between devices, like two or more computers, iPods, iPads and such, and you wish to continue accessing your calendar at <me.com>, you will have to upgrade your calendars at <me.com>. Apple says all you have to do is log into <me.com/calendar>, using your MobileMe login and password. It is best to make sure your calendar is up to date, as in you have made sure to manually sync it with the MobileMe prefpane in System Preferences or the MobileMe sync widget up in the menu bar near the clock. Also, do whatever you normally do to back up your calendar data. It would be good to make sure that your other devices that also sync calendars via MobileMe are turned off or at least not syncing.

Finally, back on the <me.com/calendar> web page, click on the Upgrade Now icon in the lower left corner. Wait, and wait, and wait even longer. Don’t close the web browser window if you want any chance of watching the progress. When it is done, double-check your calendar(s) and if all is OK, turn back on syncing on your other devices.

Oh, and Apple wants you all to be using Snow Leopard, 10.6.4 at least. See more info at <http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4037>

Epsilon email list breach

Worthy of an April Fools joke, on April 1st, Epsilon, out of Texas, admitted an “unauthorized entry into Epsilon’s email system” on March 30, and that the “information that was obtained was limited to email addresses and/or customer names only.” What does Epsilon do? They handle email campaigns for many large corporations and they have not said who. However, large banks, like JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, U.S. Bank, Barclays Bank and Capital One, and other corporations like Krogers, Home Shopping Network, the College Board, Best Buy, Home Depot, and. Time to learn about “spear phishing”, when email or other contact makes us of trust we have in an institution contacting us by email, phone or in person, while relying on appearing to be something we trust. Now, we have to pay more attention to scam messages with targeted messages trying to trick us into changing login information via a fake page, giving up other information that might give them access to other online accounts. or get us to buy fake or unneeded services and products. .  So, if asked via email for your account number, UserID, PIN or password, don’t reply. Call instead to verify.

Facebook

If you were to see “My Facebook wall has been viewed X times.” coming from a Facebook friend, should you just click on the link to see if you can find out the same information for your Facebook page? Well, the result is likely to be that you end up giving a third party application access to be able to post messages using your Facebook account name. Facebook is a major conduit for spamming and phishing messages, trying to make use of our trust in what appear to be legitimate messages from our friends. However, nothing in the way that email is structured currently can assure you that the sender of a message is really who he/she says. Facebook is not really good at shutting down scammers, so you have to pay more attention. And, while you are at it, you might want to use a different browser for your Facebooking, doing your regular browsing with your normal web browser. If you don’t log out of Facebook and just continue browsing, then all of those websites with a Facebook Like button are letting Facebook know what sites and pages you are looking, even if you don’t click the Like button.

And, by the way, spend a little time learning the Facebook privacy settings at http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php

’11 Resolutions

December 20, 2010 in advice, hardware, office, software | Permalink

  1. Learn a programming language, it sounds scary or unneeded but it can be fun.
    http://scratch.mit.edu/ or http://sketchup.google.com/ might get you going. Scratch is fun as you are dragging around actions element to make a “story” but what you are really doing is called Object Oriented Programming, a common programming “style.”
  2. Work on better ergonomics, keyboard and mouse, move every 15 min
    consider a trackball, Logitech and Microsoft make some, consider that you will have to use it for a few days and don’t be afraid to return it and try a different type.
  3. Stop computer use right before bed, late night use of active light sources, things like a computer screen or even an iPad, upsets the body’s ability to go to sleep.
  4. Decrease email interruptions, turn off alert sound, switch to 30 min check
    Most of us can not help seeing what just came in when we hear the new message chime but checking email frequently is a great way to avoid being productive. Turn off the chime, change the checking interval or even close the email program to keep focused.
  5. Change passwords, use easy remember system or encrypted keychain
    Since web site do seem to get hacked and people don’t like to use different passwords, it would make sense to use different passwords on different sites. Since we don’t like to do that, then changing them all on a regular basis might be good. Or use a password storing program to keep track of the different ones so that you don’t fall prey to the “One Ring to rule them all” scenario.
    See “Passwords, where to keep them”

    http://scobie.net/index.php/2010/02/16/passwords-where-to-keep-them/

  6. Use less paper and ink, light printing, fonts with less ink
    Find out how to use the draft mode and black ink only on your color printer. And, if you are really trying to cut down ink, take a look at Ecofont
    http://www.ecofont.com/en/products/green/font/download-the-ink-saving-font.html
    or the study by University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that convinced them to change to Century Gothic

    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/campus-overload/2010/03/font_change_could_save_money_p.html

  7. Check UPS function, replace if tripped and make sure correctly set up
    UPSes, uninterruptible power supplies, a.k.a. battery back ups, do wear out as they get used or triggered. Also, make sure you don’t use them as an easy plug in place for a space heater, the battery will die almost faster than you can turn the heater back off. Most all UPSes have a surge-protect only side and a batter+surge-protect side, use the battery+ side only for your computer and monitor, use the other side for printers and such. And, try not to plug extension cords into a UPS and avoid plugging the UPS into an extension.
  8. Verify backups actually have what you want
    Before you need to rely on your backup, take a little time to see if you can find something you did last week. If you can’t figure out how to recover your data, try learning it before you need it in a panic.
  9. Neaten up cords and “boxes” with Velcro, zip-ties, staple gun, boxes, ikea hacks
    Get the heavy duty Velcro and you can stick all of those extra “boxes” and power cords to the side, back, or underside of whatever you use as your computer desk. Use zip ties and a staple gun to make loose loops to corral all of the cables, tacking them to the back or underside of the desk. If you like Ikea, take a look at some Ikea hacks at

    http://lifehacker.com/5711774/hack-your-way-through-the-ikea-catalog-this-weekend

  10. Recycle and dispose of computer, other electronics
    In this area, Charlotte Street Computers will accept old computers and such to recycle.  They are not supposed to be put in the trash.

    http://ecycleme.com/

Passwords, where to keep them

February 16, 2010 in software | Permalink

You have to have passwords on the internet, for email, banking, online purchasing, even those sites that require you to register and sign in just to see more information. Everyone says not to use the same login and password for all those places, but there are very few people who can actually remember all of the different combinations of different logins and random passwords that the security experts suggest you have. The reason to not use the same login and password for banking and facebook, for example, is that if someone could figure out or steal your facebook login name and password, they could try it on all of the major bank sites, just to see if it would work, knowing that many people do use the same logins across many different sites.

The trick is to somehow store those passwords so that you can get to them when you need them. And, you should use differing login names and passwords that are not easy to guess. Which means that one of the answers is to use a computer program to store and even suggest strong and different passwords. Research using 32 million passwords exposed in a recent “break in” revealed that one of the most common passwords is “123456” and that many people use common dictionary words, people and pet names, and adjacent keys on the keyboard.

KeePass and Roboforms (Windows) and 1Password (Macintosh) are software options that let you store your passwords for different sites, and will also suggest strong and random passwords. A useful feature is that they can suggest passwords that are “memorable”, passwords that look like snippets of English, making it easier to remember and type. Each of these programs can also fill in your credentials on websites and even print out your passwords.

Of course, one of the easiest storage methods is still a small note card in your wallet. Most of us know how to “secure” our wallets and if you only write down the passwords, and can remember (with the help of some code maybe) which password is used where, you really are much more safe than when using the same password for all of your logins.

KeePass, http://keepass.info/
Roboforms, http://www.roboform.com/
1Password, http://agilewebsolutions.com/products/1Password

Computer shortcut heaven

October 10, 2009 in software, training | Permalink

In trying to come up with my top ten keyboard shortcuts, the ones where people say, “Wait, what did you just do?” I have come up with the following 13. But, in my defense, I could say that cut, copy, and paste may not count, as many people may have already learned those keyboard shortcuts. So, here is a list of my top 10+3

The whole point of using the keyboard for what otherwise would involve the mouse is to cut down on moving your hand from the keyboard while you are typing, to the mouse to find and click on a menu command, and then back to the keyboard to continue typing. These shortcuts are usually a mix of two or more keys pressed at the same time. So, below is my list of what I most frequently use to avoid that keyboard to mouse and back routine. Ctrl c means hold down the “Ctrl” key and press the “c” key.

Windows Mac Action
Ctrl c Cmd c Copy what is highlighted
Ctrl v Cmd v Paste
Ctrl x Cmd x Cut what is highlighted
Alt tab Cmd tab Rotate to next running program
Ctrl s Cmd s Save file and keep it open for further work
Ctrl z Cmd z Undo last command or action
Click the right mouse button Click the right mouse button, or Ctrl click left button Open contextual menu,
Alt F4 or Ctrl q Cmd q Close, quit the current program
Ctrl p Cmd p Open print window
Ctrl n Cmd n Open new document, web page, email message …
Ctrl a Cmd a Select all in document or window
Tab Tab Move to next typing field in web page or database window or table
Ctrl click Cmd click Lets you pick and choose among the list of file names or email messages

How to find other shortcuts

When you are looking at a menu again and again, to do the same thing over and over, look to the right of the command and notice there may be something like Ctrl O (File, Open)

Or, google something like “Word keyboard shortcuts,” replacing Word with the name of the program that you want shortcuts for.

Write down a list of ten that you frequently use, ones that otherwise you are always getting to through the menus, and put them next to your computer. Practice them.

As nothing is consistent across all computer programs, focus on the shortcuts that will help you with your most frequent mouse actions.

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