talkingdigital.org

Cheap computers are everywhere. I say this knowing that cheap is relative. $600 to one person is different than $600 to another.

Some may think that $600 is high considering that the same $600 can buy you other items that will last much longer than 4-6 years and those things typically won’t break down or crash.

Is $600+ for a computer high when you compare it to a nice piece of furniture, art or a pretty good tuneup on your car?

Once you’ve purchased a computer, how much is too much to spend on a repair? When do you fix it and when do you replace it?

Sometimes we over simplify this decision process. We try to come up with formulas like, “If the repair cost is higher than one third the price of new, and the system is more than three years old, you should replace it.” However, there is much more to consider than a basic formula can offer.

No matter how much you spend on the purchase of a new computer or how much an upgrade or repair may cost, the true value of a computer is in the information, not the components.

If you suddenly lost your address book, how much would you pay to get it back? If you suddenly lost all of your photos, how much would you pay to get them back? If all of your financial and business data were suddenly gone, how much would you pay to get it back? Chances are that the value of one or more of these things exceeds the value of the computer.

The more I work with people and computers, the more I realize that computers can not be compared to anything else. Yet, people try.

People try to compare their computers to cars, appliances, and other items that we use in day-to-day life. Being a computer repair guy is far more stressful than being a washing machine repair guy. If the washing machine guy can’t fix the problem, does your entire wardrobe disappear? If he makes a mistake while replacing a belt, is there a chance that it will tear your clothes to shreds? Not really.

Working with computers is quite different. I have seen entire family photo collections disappear in an instant. I have seen years worth of financial data accidentally deleted. These are daily mistakes that have no equal in the world outside of computers.

There are two costs to every computer and both are equally important. There is the cost of the system itself and the cost of maintaining that system.

Buying a top of the line computer is worthless if you don’t spend a few dollars on a backup drive. Spending a few dollars on a backup drive is useless if  you don’t use it. Be honest with yourself and evaluate how important the data on your computer really is and how significant of a role it plays in your life.

This may be an eye opening process, but the sooner you realize it, the more you will take care of the information that the system holds.

OK, It’s been two weeks since my laptops were stolen, but I still haven’t completely gotten over it. What makes it slightly worse, is that I had just setup a Mac to take over as my primary desktop computer.

The Mac didn’t actually make the problem worse, but in order to set up the Mac, I had to move my PC to another desk. I didn’t get rid of it altogether.

I was fully prepared to use my Mac for all of my day-to-day functions but turn to my laptop around the house for email, Internet and other projects. I didn’t realize how much I had depended on my laptop over the past few weeks until they weren’t there anymore.

I have have been putting most of my computer time into making my life universal and compatible with all formats. I use Zoho.com for my document creation, NVU for my web editor, Firefox as my browser, Gimp and Picasa for photos and Thunderbird for my Mac and Ubuntu email app. I still use Outlook on the PC but I can’t remember why.

In the past month as I have been using my Mac almost exclusively as my home computer, I have found that it is a habit forming device. Concepts that are difficult concepts on a PC, like keyboard shortcuts and file management, are almost intuitive on the Mac.

When I tell people that I am migrating away from Windows in my personal life, I always get the same response, “Why?” They ask the question with an almost betrayed tone in their voice as though I have told them that I am leaving my wife.

I explain how easy the transition was and how I don’t have to mess with antivirus, spyware. disk cleanup and other utility functions that almost exclusively belong to the PC.

Their next thought is, “Maybe I should do that.”

I am not on a mission to turn people to Mac, but when faced with the option of moving to Vista or moving to Mac, I can’t form much of an intelligent argument for going with Microsoft.

Very soon, the only Windows machine I will be using on a regular basis in my personal life will be a MacBook with Vista loaded as an alternate OS. I still need Windows for when I am teaching my Basic Computer classes via the projector. Other than that, I can’t see myself using Windows personally for any practical reasons.

I have becoming fluent in speaking the language of Windows, I would like to one day speak, just as fluently in Mac, Linux, Google and Windows Mobile. I still don’t want to speak geek, I just call it talking digital.

I have had to fight back tears of joy as I put the newsletter together. At times I could barely read what was on my screen. The anticipation for changes in my life has probably lead to many misspellings and errors, but you may not notice as those errors probably still fall within our guaranteed 78 percent accuracy range.

I have looked forward to this day for almost a year – and it finally has come.

Early this year, Microsoft released Windows Vista. I knew that it wouldn’t be great, but as a computer guy, I felt compelled to use it so that I would understand how too work on it.

I didn’t want to commit my desktop to it just in case there were problems. So, I put it on my Averatec laptop with 1 gig of RAM, a dual core AMD Turion X64 and 100 gig hard drive. It seemed powerful enough.

Many Averatecs didn’t come with recovery CDs, but I didn’t see a problem with erasing Windows XP to make room for Vista.

It only took a few moments of using Windows Vista to realize how much slower my computer had become. The bootup time had more than doubled and I would get all shake y as I waited for it to shut down.

Programs opened slowly. I was sometimes able to connect to a wireless connection, yet I was not able to actually browse the web on networks that I knew were open because the XP systems right beside me were working fine.

Then two weeks ago Rick showed me something that would change my life. Averatec had posted Windows XP recovery disks for my laptop. I wasted no time and for $20, I ordered the disks.

Today, my disks arrived in the mail. I haven’t installed them yet because I can’t bring myself to stop hugging and kissing them. I should get to bed early tonight, but I feel like a kid on Christmas. I don’t know if I can wait any longer. I must install XP back on my laptop and make it feel loved again.

Thank you Averatec. Thank you for giving me back my Windows XP.

It has been a big week for me. I dumped my DSL and moved back to cable Internet.

I didn’t do it for price or performance. I did it because the phone lines in my house keep shorting out and the phone company said it would cost nearly $300 to fix the problem. So, I jumped to cable phone and Internet service and dumped the phone company.

Changing Internet services is a painless process. I thought I would write this week about how to get broadband Internet service at the best rate and make the process easy.

First, there are three types of broadband to consider if you live in a populated area. If you live on the outskirts, your only option may be satellite Internet. The only people who should consider satellite Internet are people who live in the toolies and RV folks.

Everyone else should stick with cable, DSL or microwave wireless service.

Here’s a breakdown of the differences:

Cable – fastest and typically the most expensive option unless bundled with other services such as TV or phone service.

DSL – Tiered service offers different speeds at different prices, but all are faster and better than dial-up.

Microwave wireless – typically about as fast as the slowest DSL (around 256k) for standard service and faster speeds are available at an increased cost. Great if other options are not available.

If speed doesn’t matter, as all are at least 10X faster than dial-up, price will likely be the deciding factor in which service to go with. Shop around. Make sure to ask the following questions:

• What is the absolute lowest price I can get broadband Internet for?
• Is this price a promotion?
• What else do I have to commit to to get this price?
• How fast is this service?

These questions will not rule any service out, they will just help you compare apples to apples.

Once you have found the best price, go with it. Don’t worry if it is only a limited time offer. At the end of the term you can switch to one of the other services for roughly the same price.

Hopping back and forth between companies and services is easy as long as you set up a new email address with gmail, yahoo or hotmail.com. Switching to one of these free services will mean that you will never have to change you email address again.

If you are an AOL or MSN user, go ahead and cancel your dial-up service. AOL and MSN both work for free once you have broadband even if you cancel.

Following this advice and jumping from one service to another will stimulate competition in the broadband market and thus lower prices. The US has the most expensive broadband fees of any developed (and most under developed) countries. As long as people stick with the same service even after costs have gone up, the industry will see no reason to change their methods.

Rick wrote a great article on how to save money on your telecommunications bill a few months ago. Click here to read that article.

This week’s article is for all you old people. I am not writing to the seasoned citizens, senior citizens, the young at heart or boomers. I am writing this article to the people who know they are old. They prefer to be called old because they feel they have earned the title. Anyone who prefers to be called something other than old, is not truly an old person.

Every week, I get told by people of various ages, “I’m too old to learn this stuff.” Sometimes these people are 40 and sometimes they are 90, the actual age doesn’t matter.

No matter how old someone is, it is my observation that no one actually turns old until they give their consent. I have a 98 year old client who I have tutored for several months. I never need to write anything down. I just show her one time how to do something and she locks it away.

I have a 50+ year old client who has 10 pages of notes on how to send an email and he constantly tells me that if he doesn’t write down every detail his old brain will forget it. Essentially all aging people fit into one of two roles portrayed in the movie Grumpy Old Men. They are either Walter Matheu old or Jack Lemon old.

Whether you are an old person who longs to be young again or you are an aging person who seeks to retain youth, there are a few tools that will help.

Creams, exercise, prescription drugs and romance will all help keep you young, but there is one characteristic that all young people have in common…they all love gadgets. That’s right, The fountain of youth is not found in cosmetics, clothing or drugs. Using gadgets is the only thing that will keep your mind and soul young and active.

Here is a list of the best gadgets that I think all old people should learn to use if they want to age backwards.

1. GameBoy with Brain Age – www.brainage.com – The GameBoy is a video game system that you can take anywhere. While there are many fun games that kids can play, there is one game for the GameBoy that has been proven to take years off of your “Brain Age.” Brain Age is a game full of puzzles that test your mental reflexes and require little dexterity. Hospitals and homes for the aging have adopted the Brain Age game to help their patients and clients retain their mental faculties.

2. Palm device or Treo smart phone with Palm OS – www.Palm.com – It is important here that you get a device with the Palm OS and not Windows Mobile.

A Palm is a device that you use to track your appointments, addresses, alarms, medications, shopping lists, games, and even music and videos. It may seem like using such a device would decrease your memory and mental functions, in reality learning how to use and depend on a Palm PDA will open new worlds and capabilities that you are always been afraid to attempt before.

3. Digital Camera – Go buy any name brand digital camera and start using it right away. Not only will this give you a new hobby over night, it is extremely cheap as you don’t have to use film or make prints. Just have fun taking pictures.

4. Nintendo Wii – This is another video game system but it isn’t the shoot-em-up type game system that the youngsters play. The Wii uses motion control and the games are simple. Bowling, golf, baseball and boxing are a few of the more simple games that come in the box. You can add more games if you want, but the provided games will have you hooked right away. Recent studies show that 20 minutes of playing Wii sports games nearly equals 1 hour of walking. There is a great article on the popularity of the Wii with older folks here:

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/samiljan/5868

5. An iPod or other MP3 player – If you enjoy reading or music, this is the perfect gadget to start with. All you need is a computer. An

MP3 player is similar to a portable Walkman or cassette player but instead of playing music from tapes or CDs the music is stored on a tiny computer inside the device. Rather than hold an hour or so of music, MP3 players hold hundreds or thousands of hours of music.

Using services like Audible.com or borrowing CDs from the library you can copy audio books, music, or spoken word to the device and listen to it anywhere you go.