Yeah, its new today, but will it be 'history' tomorrow?

A lot of folks have gone out and spent good money on a laptop or desktop computer for their kid(s) to use at school; I hope they let their kids pick them out.

Well meaning parents, wanting desperately to keep the college costs under control skimp and buy under powered PC's/laptops only to later discover they've been penny wise and pound foolish. Take notes here, save a dime or two and avoid the 'instant obsolescence' trap:

1st: There is NO SUCH THING as TOO much RAM memory. RAM is a bad place to skimp; if you don't know what I'm talking about, just trust me and buy a machine with 2 GB of RAM.

2nd: Does the machine include the software the user needs for school? Probably better have them add Microsoft Office Basic, which includes most of what any student will need.

3rd: Ask for an Intel 'dual core 2' processor or better. Again, trust me...the Celeron processors suck; they just do. The ADM chips MAY be fine, but Intel is ALWAYS a safe bet.

4th: Yes, every college kid needs a WI-FI wireless card. No ifs, ands, or buts. Hi-School kids need 'em, too.

There's lots more to tell, but if you follow these 4 rules the rest will fall into place. If you disregard these rules you've just bought a machine that is yesterday's technology today.

Living Wirelessly....It's in the Air...

Well, if you live long enough, you'll experience everything....almost...so they say. Like the time I was ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY sure that a cordless (wireless) phone next to a desktop computer couldn't be causing it to drop the connection to the wireless internet signal in the house. No way! I mean there was another wireless computer just 4' away, and IT had NO problems.

Silly me. 'Expect the obvious and eliminate that first', is the unwritten rule of computer repair. May it be tattooed on my forehead for violating this one. My recommendation? Make sure when you are computing wirelessly that cell phones/cordless phones/radio(s) are not sitting right next to your computer or wireless router; allow six feet or more. Duh!

Spring is in the air ... time to go Wireless

If you've only one hi-speed modem in the house and you have more than one computer it's time to go wireless; in fact, it's past time. And the good news is it's fast and inexpensive to hook up. What's that you say? You aren't that techno-savy? Well that just makes me smile!

A wireless router can be as little as $3-$5 per month more than you pay now, if you are renting your modem from Qwest or Comcast; or if you prefer you can buy a wireless router for like $59-$79. Adding it to your system can take an hour or less. And if you like you can even arrange to slit your monthly internet access cost with a neighbor! Now that's using your head!

Call or e-mail me ... and end your wait to get to use the internet at home.