Computer History Archives

5 Easy Steps To Delete Browsing History On Your iPhone

Posted on July 31, 2018May 20, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Do you know how we always tell you to delete the history on your web browser on your computer? Well, you need to delete browsing history on your smartphone too. It helps speed up your interactions with the servers. But it also helps keep your data more secure too, since it deletes any installed cookies as well as your entire history.

If anyone is able to hack into your phone they may be able to gain access to your login information for any number of websites. It may also help to make you look like a new user to websites that track the number of times you’ve visited. You’ve gotten that message – “You’ve logged on ten times for free. Subscribe now!” I don’t know about you, but I would prefer not to provide my email address to another sales organization and an easy way around that error message is to delete browsing history.

It is really very easy to delete your history. Just follow these 5 steps.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Browsing History on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete browsing history. It really will delete all of the open web pages on your iPhone. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

If you found this helpful, please forward it to your friends!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $119/year, but you can try it for 30 days for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

5 Easy Steps To Delete Cookies On Your iPhone

Posted on December 5, 2017December 12, 2017 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Chris and I had a conversation this morning about the pesky news sites that limit the number of articles you can read each month. There are some newspapers that I won’t even read online because I get that nasty error message that says: “You’ve reached the limit! Subscribe now!” He told me that when he runs into that, the solution is to delete cookies on your iPhone.

WHAAAAAT?! I didn’t realize you could do that.

As I started looking into this, I see that there are other benefits as well. Just like with your computer, you do want to delete cookies on your iPhone regularly to keep your private information safe and secure. And, just like the rest of of the business world, there are companies out there who want to sell you an app to “take care of this for you”. Don’t fall for that trick! It’s easy enough to do it yourself.

5 Easy Steps to Delete Cookies on your iPhone

Open up your Settings
Click on “Safari”
Scroll almost all the way to the bottom of the page
Click on “Clear History and Website Data”
Confirm that you truly want to delete all of your history. This means that every page you’ve opened in your iPhone’s browser will be gone! This was a surprise to me, because I tend to save my open tabs so I can reference them again. If there are tabs that you have open on your phone that you would like to keep, it’s best to save them first, then wipe the history!

If you found this helpful, please share with your friends!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

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A Look Back at 2015 in Technology

Posted on December 22, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, Hackers, Siri, Tips

Every year there are new developments in the Technology world, and 2015 was no exception. Here are just a few:

VR Headset – At the CES 2015 show in January, no one expected Virtual Reality for the masses to be available this year. They were wrong! Announced in time for Black Friday, Oculus as released a headset that works exclusively with the Samsung Galaxy smartphone. More info here:

iWatch – Apple has been developing their watch since 2011 and it was finally available in the spring of this year. Reviews on the different tech sites that review these things have been mixed. Reviews by Amazon consumers are much higher.

Intel Skylake – Chris is pretty excited about the new 6th generation Intel Core Processor. He says it will run better on mobile technology. Do you know what the 1st generation was? Check out this article and astonish your geeky friends!

Tesla – Chris is also excited about the new Ludicrous upgrade to the Tesla Model S P90DL. Well, anything that takes you from zero to sixty in under three seconds has got to be worthy of some salivation! Here’s a link to DragTimes video.

Car Hacking – This was a big story this past spring. Computers in cars are pretty ubiquitous now and are just as susceptible to hacking as other computers are. The difference here is that car manufacturers don’t seem concerned and are not doing what they could to make their systems more secure. A previous blog about a report released by Senator Ed Markey has more information.

DieselGate – Earlier this year we found out that VW and Audi installed software on many of its 2009-2015 diesel models that would essential “cheat” emissions tests. From this NYTimes article “The software sensed when the car was being tested and then activated equipment that reduced emissions, United States officials said. But the software turned the equipment off during regular driving, increasing emissions far above legal limits, possibly to save fuel or to improve the car’s torque and acceleration.” There’s more info here: Late last month, VW announced their fix for the diesel engines. Automotive News describes the modifications that will need to be made here.

What do you were the most significant technology announcements in 2015? Share in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free and fast shipping. With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

When Were They Invented?

Posted on November 17, 2015December 2, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Computer History

Have you ever wondered when different components of the modern computer were invented? Me too!

Mouse – The mouse was invented in 1964 by Doug Engelbart in his research lab at Stanford. He had been looking for an accurate way to plot X-Y coordinates on the computer screen. He and his team went through several prototypes including one with a foot pedal, but settled on the small pointing device we use today. In Engelbarts words:

“Five or six of us were involved in these tests, but no one can remember who started calling it a mouse. I’m surprised the name stuck.
We also did a lot of experiments to see how many buttons the mouse should have. We tried as many as five. We settled on three. That’s all we could fit. Now the three-button mouse has become standard, except for the Mac.“

Keyboard – The keyboard is a natural extension of the typewriter. There’s a lovely write up of the history of the typewriter here: The typewriter was first invented in 1706 by Henry Mill. (There’s no proof that he ever built it, however.) Other models followed, but the typewriter, with a QWERTY keyboard, wasn’t commercially available until 1873. Little has changed since then, except making typewriters electric. The biggest difference between the typewriter of yesterday and the computer keyboard of today are the function keys.

Remote Control – Few things have encouraged the rise of the couch potato (pun intended!) as the remote! The first “remote” was developed by Zenith in 1950 and was called the “Lazy Bones“. It was “connected to the television by a wire. A wireless remote control, the “Flashmatic”, was developed in 1955 by Eugene Polley. It worked by shining a beam of light onto a photoelectric cell, but the cell did not distinguish between light from the remote and light from other sources. The Flashmatic also had to be pointed very precisely at the receiver in order to work.” The Universal Remote – a remote that would work with multiple devices – wasn’t invented until 1985!

Router – We probably wouldn’t have the network we have today if William Yeager hadn’t invented the router in 1981. It all started at Stanford:

“This project started for me in January of 1980, when essentially the boss said, ‘You’re our networking guy. Go do something to connect the computer science department, medical center and department of electrical engineering.”

History on even more gadgets are available here, here, and the flops are here.

Do you have a favorite history story about technology? Share in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

Laptop Trivia (Portable and lug-able computers)

Posted on September 29, 2015May 16, 2021 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, Laptops

I’m up next for a new laptop at Geek For Hire, so I’ve been thinking about all the computers I’ve had. Here’s some laptop trivia.

HP Luggable:

I remember carrying my first laptop through the Pittsburgh airport. At the time it was called a “portable computer”, and technically it was, although Chris called it a “luggable”. The computer was made by Hewlett-Packard, had a separate disk drive, a separate printer, and may or may not have had an internal battery. (We can’t remember.) It had a very small (5″?) black & white screen and ran on DOS 2.11. Of course, I needed to bring all of this with me on my business trips. All together they probably weighed 25 or 30 pounds and I would have deep indentations in my shoulders when I arrived at my destination!

The HP 110 laptop used the MS-DOS 2.11 operating system — The HP 110 used the MS-DOS 2.11 operating system

My new laptop will weigh about three pounds and will be a gazillion times faster.

More Laptop Trivia:

First Portable Computers – a precursor to the Laptop:

The portable computer was first imagined by Alan Kay of Xerox in 1968. He wrote a paper at that time and called it a “Dynabook”. A commercially available portable computer didn’t appear on the scene until 1975 when IBM released its SCAMP 5100. (For you acronym junkies, that’s Special Computer APL Machine Portable, and it was based on the PALM processor or Put All Logic in Microcode.)

Those first portable computers weighed around 24 pounds, had a 5″ CRT screen and a 5.25″ floppy drive for storing your data. Following Moore’s Law, laptops became faster and lighter relatively quickly.

Moore’s law:

The observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

Zeos 386:

Chris’ first portable machine was a Zeos 386, which he got when he was a consultant for Chase. It ran the DOS 5.0 operating system, had a backlit screen, and a battery that lasted for two hours! And, at only 9 pounds, it was light as a feather compared to my HP. Of course, we still have it:

All of the Utilities for the machine were kept on the boot disk:

Today you can get all that processing power and more in the new iPad! (Note: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases with no increase in price to you.)

When did you get your first laptop or portable computer? Which operating system did it use? What other laptop trivia can you share with us? Let us know in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

The Geek That Calls You Back – and Other True Stories

Posted on April 7, 2015May 17, 2021 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, Mac's, PC's, Personal, Tips, WiFi

We get calls all the time from people who say “I’ve had this problem for a week, but my regular geek isn’t getting back to me.” When people say that, it always makes me wonder. How can you expect your customers to treat you with respect when you have a sub-standard level of professionalism? We provide a professional service and treat our customers how we want to be treated.

The geek that lets you shoulder surf: Chris likes for our customers to know more after their service than they did before. Ask questions! Chris will answer them, but more than that…

The geek that treats you like an intelligent human: We’ve all seen that show where the geek comes to fix your computer and makes fun of you because you don’t know the difference between a RAM and a gig. Chris knows that you’re an intelligent person who has skills in areas other than fixing computers. He treats you with respect and kindness.

The geek that’s not on commission: When you bring your computer to a “big box store” for repair, everyone you talk to is probably earning a commission. It’s in their best interest to tell you that your computer can’t be repaired, or that you’d be better off with this expensive new computer on the shelf over there rather than the $35 part that will fix it.

The geek that comes to your home: Have you had a problem with your computer and you pack it up and bring it into the store, but the problem magically disappears? Then comes back when you get it back home? Even laptops, which are supposed to “work everywhere”, will have issues only in one place. When we come to your home, all the problems that were there yesterday, won’t mysteriously disappear just because we walk through the door!

The geek with 30+ years of experience: Yup, you read that number correctly. It makes me laugh when I see an IT company with two geeks that proclaim “OVER 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE!!” (Each geek has worked with computers for 7 or 8 years.) Chris has been working with computers since high school. He has kept up-to-date with changes over the years. Today, he’s just as comfortable with a MacPro or a Surface as he is with the old PDP-11.

The geek that’s been around for over 15 years: We intend to be around for a lot more. That means consistent service for you from someone who knows you and knows how you work. There’s a trust there that’s built over the years. We watch your kids grow up. There’s an honor about being let into our customer’s lives. We grieve with you when your house gets flooded or is in the middle of a wildfire. We celebrate with you when you get a new puppy, or your kids graduate from high school.

And, we know computers, and we’ll call you back.

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.