Guest Posting by Stephen McLaughlin

Hello All

I have had the un-fun experience of trying to make a apple into a orange this past week. I had a concept in my head of what I was wanting a website to look like and I kept telling myself I can make a simple WordPress site look like it. I am not extremely dumb or a slow fellow but boy I felt like I was after 2+ hours of banging my fat fingers on my keyboard.

I truly believe and agree WordPress is one of the most simple solutions but I am always reminded when I forget some things are on opposite ends of a un bendable pole and you can only have/use one end at a time. When it comes to a CMS (content management system) for websites it is either simple or setup and use (aka easy) or it is wide open to changes of format, structure and layout (aka hard)

And I made the mistake of thinking I could hammer a square peg into a round hole and I failed, I failed hard, so it looks like I am going to uninstall WordPress from my site and go with another CMS system, of which the choices are great.

I could use ohh a hundred or so other PHP/MySQL based CMS’shttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems#PHP I believe I am going to use Drupal, I honestly believe it has the most to offer someone on my level, someone who understands code but is not a coder, someone who understands basic plug architecture and someone who really (no realllly) couldn’t design a proper layout to a site to save my life.

I have used Drupal 2-3 times before and sure I had painful experiences but the Drupal community is vast and rich with knowledge, so finding solutions is possible just sometimes you have to do a little digging and if you ever have to get into a file on your server and do some editing it always seems to be very well documented.

So in the end I do believe WordPress is a great product and can be the backend on great sites, I just think if you have a concept that looks “too different” from the basic theme you either have to become a php/theme/Wordpress hacker or dig into your pockets and pay a site/service to step in and do the dirty work

….. now if I could only decide on a good theme …. I might go with this onehttp://demo.symphonythemes.com/index.php?theme=conch
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Thanks

Stephen McLaughlin

www.DoorToDoorGeek.com
www.LinuxBasix.com
www.Podnutz.com/LinuxForTheRestOfUs
www.Podnutz.com/AndroidAppAddicts
www.PodBuntu.com
www.LinuxForTheRestOfUs.com

Steve Jobs – Co-founder of Apple, former CEO, Visionary, and Marketing Genius passed away today. Apple released a simple yet poignant statement at http://www.apple.com/stevejobs/ where they invite people to share their stories, thoughts & condolences. More than anything I think I will miss the way he created desire for what is essentially an everyday device.

The passion you showed for your company was unparalleled.

Liam Tidwell –

We have all been there. You knock your iPod of the counter into the dogs water, your cell phone ends up in the pool thanks to a friendly toddler, or coffee is spilled in your laptop.

Now what? That depends on the device. Follow the steps below to minimize your chances of damage to your device.

Immediately pull the battery. Can’t get to the battery? Turn it off and get it to someone who can take it apart. DO NOT turn it back on, charge it, or try to use it!! Pull the device apart as much as you can and set the individual parts in rice or some other dry grain to help pull the moisture out of it. DO NOT try and dry it with a compressor or hair dryer this will only force the liquid deeper into the device. DO NOT put it in an oven or under a heat lamp. The heat will only speed up the corrosion or your electronics. Do flip it upside down so it can drain out the same way it got in.

The main thing is to have a plan and to know how and what to do if your device(s) get wet/immersed. Learn how to get the batteries out. Take off your phone case and put it back on a couple of times. It can be harder than you think, and those things trap water really well…

Liam Tidwell – LiamTek

Guest Post by:
Lisa Hendrickson of Call That Girl

Welcome to my Outlook FYI series of blogs. We will be covering these topics in a series as there is just way too much information to handle in one blog. I felt that these FYI’s were important to discuss because so many people use Outlook every day, for so many things. And Outlook is just not for email anymore. I also apologize, there are no “How to” in my blogs, just FYI’s. This blog will just explain things hopefully better for you to understand.

Many of us use Outlook in our everyday computing needs. It’s a wonderful tool, but very misunderstood by the common user. And maybe by some not so common people. Many of us are really married to it and I am all for it because it’s been my favorite software program since 2000, but it can be tricky and problematic.

Topic covered today
PST-General FYI

Last weekend one of my clients took a computer to a “big box” place to buy a new computer and in a panic, had them do a data back up from his old computer to get the files quickly. When he got his computer back, he asked many times about the Outlook files and they told him, “We couldn’t get those files, they were corrupted”. He panics and comes back to us, where we find his files in no time flat. Why is that? Because we know where Microsoft hides the PST files, their technician must not have known. Years of data, calendar appointments, tasks, contacts, emails, archives…all could have been gone in one fast “Nope” type answer. Let me explain…

By default, when you set up Outlook for the first time, it creates what is called a PST (personal storage). You usually complete a set up wizard, fill in all of your email account information and happy days, email is back and running again! Email is working fine, but…Houston, we have a problem.

Again by default, the Outlook PST file on older computers that have XP and Windows Vista are set up in a hidden folder (not in Windows 7, it’s in the Documents folder now), way deep in some folders that are not shown by default. Windows says “click here to show hidden files” the average person would never think of going to find. Nor do they really make it easy to find unless you know how to navigate around the Outlook properties and settings. To be honest, very few of my clients know where this file is or know it exists.

So you may ask, why should you need to know where that PST is? Because it stores everything you do in Outlook. If you are using Pop3 for email, that’s where your email probably is being downloaded. Using the calendar? That’s where your calendar is. Contacts, Tasks, Auto-fill name, archive files….Yep, all there and hidden. And please never assume your emails are being kept on your server because that is not the truth in many cases either. (That will be our topic next Wednesday though, email).

I think of Outlook like this, it’s like buying a house but you don’t know where the furnace is. You know you have heat and can manage the thermostat…but don’t know where the furnace really is. Could you imagine that? Buying a house with no furnace, then one day you notice something is wrong and you can’t find the furnace at all. But you Google it and find the house builders buried your furnace underneath your basement. That is what Microsoft does with your default PST, hides it under the basement pretty much. And when you find the furnace, let’s say you can’t get it out of the basement because the house builders never told you how to get in and find it nor do they allow you to just open that basement door and see your furnace. You can see the outside of it, but you can’t see the pilot light to know its running. Your PST is in those deep hidden folders and you can’t just double click them to open them. You must open them through two or three special ways and the common person, again…doesn’t know how to do this. (I hope I didn’t lose you on the furnance comparison, but it’s the only thing that I could think of this am!)

Whenever I am remoted into a client’s machine and they are missing an archive folder, I go and find it open it. Most times I get this, “How did you do that”. Such a mystery that Microsoft really didn’t need to do to people.

To close, today’s topic of the infamous Outlook PST file was a just a start of my series of Outlook blogs. I will try to keep up with these every Wed and will continue to post in this blog, so favorite it and come back next week! Please share with your friends on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletters, etc. If you or a loved one are in a need of an Outlook intervention (haha), or just need assistance, I am the Outlook gal here at Call That Girl and I know it well. Let me help you and quickly!

When your Outlook is not playing well… Googling repairs is fine and I recommend you do that to learn, but when it comes to actually repairing it, call your tech to fix it right. They can help you get back to work fast..

Lisa Hendrickson
Call That Girl

Guest Post by Eric Salce of Gem State Computers

I much like everyone else like a good deal, and what deal is better than free? Sure we have been there, hanging out online, and you stumble across, or you see an ad for software that speeds up your computer, or it could copy your DVDs and CD’s. The best part, it’s all free. Or is it? I think most people will find that this software comes with a very steep price. While many people think the only way you get infected with virus or malware is downloading pirated music, and movies, or to be surfing material of a more adult/questionable nature. While some infections are very obvious, for instance if you download a video or music file and it contains a program, then most likely you will find some form of malware waiting to jump on to your system.

One of the most common ways computers are infected is by downloading free software. While not all free software is bad many free software comes bundled with tagalong programs or other malware. How do you know if you are infected? On sign of infection is the toolbars that have been added without your knowledge. Another Sign of infection is that your computer will slow down, as more and more spyware use up your systems resources, you will find your computer to slow to a crawl. What should you do if you find yourself infected? You should find yourself a friendly computer Technician to get your system cleaned up. If the infection is caught early then the damage should be minimal, and should be a very straight forward, inexpensive, and easy to repair. So just stop and think about what you are installing. If you are not sure give us a call and let us tell you what paid/free software might meet your need.

After all it’s like mamma used to say, if it’s too good to be true, then it most likely is.

Eric Salce
Gem State Computers

 

We all know the basics of using Microsoft Office. What most of us don’t know are all the shortcuts to do things that we would normaly use the mouse to do. Why would we want to use the keyboard instead? To save time. Anytime you remove your hands from the keyboard to do somethig that you could do with the kerboard you are waisting time. While it might only be a second or two, if you look at how many times you do this througot a day it starts to add up.

Let’s learn to be more effecient and reduce the strain on our hands by learning some shortcuts… Below are links to several differnet places you can find shortcuts you never knew existed.

Word 2010

Excel 2010

Outlook 2010

Here some from straight from Microsoft – *Note* when using click show all on the right side of the screen to expand all categories

Word 2010

Excel 2010

Outlook 2010

And here are a couple printable ones as well

Word

Excel 2010

Guest Blogger: Leif Glass of AnyPCService.com

Hello Fellow Internet User,

Ever wanted to transfer a file to someone but didn’t know the fastest or easiest way to do so?

You could use e-mail or an instant messenger, but there are limitations on these such as Where, and When, needing to know the persons direct contact info and you may need to wait to see if they are available to receive it or if they have received it.

With these different options and questions it just is not simple. I’ve just found service called minus.com which I feel may solve these issues.

I like to try new things to help my clients and friends improve their efficiency and for them to be able to get through the day with one less thing to worry about.

Without further ado let me introduce you to a service called minus.com this is a free service where we can easily upload any type of file up to 200 MB and be able to share it with anyone that has an Internet connection. You can easily use the site with or without an account and still be able to share your documents, pictures, or any other file you have.

Another great feature that the service provides are apps. the service has applications for your Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers. The desktop app allows you to drag-and-drop photos music documents and other files into the task bar and instantly they appear on minus.com.They also offer web applications for Chrome and Firefox. There are even mobile applications for your Android, iPhone or Windows 7 phone.

Once you upload your document or file to minus.com you have an easy interface to get a short link you can copy and paste or you can post right to your favorite social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google plus. At this point you can send your short link to anyone in an e-mail or instant message and the content that you want to share is readily available. If you do create an account you can then share your items publicly and you also have a timeline of your shares so that other people can see what you’ve shared in the past.

I recommend taking this service for spin http://www.minus.com , but make sure to come back to leave a comment thanks and enjoy.

Video Demo

Leif – AnyPCService.com

 

Do you still have a monitor like this one? I hope not. It could be bad for your health…

Other than the back ache of moving it around it is far worse for your eyes than a LCD monitor. Why, because they are inherently different in the way they create the picture. A CRT makes the picture 1 pixel at a time. It has a beam that travels along the front of the screen, extremely fast, one line at a time lighting up each pixel along the way. This is what causes the perceived flicker when you wave your hand in front of one, or when you see a recording of a CRT. LCD and Plasma monitors have pixels that are lit continuously. This reduces the flicker effect dramatically. Less flickering equals less eye strain. You might be thinking, I don’t normally notice a flicker. That is a function of the way our eyes and brain process the images that we see. You can learn more about persistence of vision here.

The eye strain this creates will often feel like a headache in the back of your head near the base of your skull. Some of this can also be posture related, more to follow. If this sounds familiar, you might need a new monitor. LCD monitors are better for your eyes and your desk. You get less eye strain, more desk space and a better looking picture in most cases. Don’t forget ergonomics when setting up your new monitor. To place it at the proper height, the top of the monitor should be just below eye level and it should have approximately 15-20 degrees of upward tilt. It should also be far enough away that you don’t have to turn your head to see the full screen.

Another eye saving tip is to take a visual break every so often, 2-3 times an hour, so your eyes can rest. Our eyes have a natural focus depth that is much farther than the distance of the monitors at which we stare into for hours on end. So take a moment to stand up and just let your eyes focus at a more natural distance for a minute or so. Still feeling the eye strain talk to your optometrist about glasses for computer use, Yes they make such a thing.

LiamTek

Longview, Texas

This laptop came into my shop earlier this week and it would appear that some work has been done on it before… The above is the power adapter, modified to use an old headphone jack to plug into the DC jack on the laptop. So for starters this is dangerous, there is nothing to stop a person from accidentally shorting the positive and negative leads (to the tune of about 5 amps) second the wire for the headphone jack is not rated for the amperage running thourgh it and could melt and short, and finally the wires were just twisted together, instead of being properly soldered and covered in heat shrink.

 

Pictured to the right is the female portion of the jack on the laptop itself. As you can see there are some tiny clearance issues. The motherboard was actually bent from being put in improperly. Luckily the motherboard was fine. I had the proper jack in-stock and was able to replace it same day.

 

 

I’m happy to report that the machine was not permanently damaged and pulled through just fine. While I must say that the person who initally perfomed the “work” shown here had the right idea and is a geek at heart , I would ask that you kindly not destroy anymore unsuspecting Walkman. I mean they stopped making those things, and there are only like 300 million of them left in the wild*…To the left is what we have once I removed all the screws, most of which were not original to the machine, and was able to get to the motherboard. Some poor Walkman gave up its life so that this laptop could be put on life support long enough to reach my bench.

* Note no Walkman(s) Walkmen? were harmed in the second repair of this laptop…

Oh and FYI, Via Sony: “The plural form is not `walkmen` or `walkmans` but Walkman personal stereos”

LiamTek

Longview, Texas

903 686 0200

I hear the above often, very often.

So in this post, we will answer the following questions:

1 What is defragging?
2 Does it really make a difference?
3 Can it hurt my computer?

First things first what is fragmentation? Think of a hard drive as an empty book. You then fill it with programs which we will call chapters. Front to back of course. Now a “chapter” gets longer but it is in the middle of the book, so you just put a note on the last page of that chapter that says see page X for the rest of this chapter. Now after enough revisions of the chapter it becomes pretty hard to read. Think of defragging like taking the book apart and putting it in a 3 ring binder so each chapter can be put in order from first to last page. That is defragmentation in a nutshell.

Does it make a difference? Yes. Does it make a noticeable difference? Maybe… That depends on how you use a computer. The performance difference really is dependent on how old the hardware is and how fragmented the drive is versus how often the drive is accessed for what you do. I’ll just say that defragmenting won’t slow you down any. Most people won’t notice a speed difference on their computer until it is in the 9-11% range and a defragmentation is capable of doing that.

Can it hurt my computer? Yes, absolutely. Will it? Probably not. Running a defragmentation is very demanding on a hard drive and can kill one that is on the verge of failing anyway. But this is why we do regular backups. For most people defragging your computer every 3-4 months will do just fine.

So there you have it, the basics of defragging. Why do people defrag? Simple, they want to speed up their computer. If your PC is slow enough that it is bothering you, chances are you will need more than a simple defrag. There are two main ways to get that new PC speed back. Hardware upgrade & software tune up and defragmentation is a small part of that process.

If you are looking to speed up your laptop or desktop PC, LiamTek can help.