Blog: Tech News & Tips - Page 15 of 27

“Range Anxiety” and Your Electric Vehicle – or how I learned to stop worrying and love four hour charges

Posted on August 29, 2017June 7, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tips

I heard a new term recently – “Range Anxiety”. The feeling you get when your electric vehicle has 20 miles left but you’re 21 miles away from home. We’ve been tossing around the idea of getting an electric vehicle, but always bump up against that nagging feeling that we’ll need to carry an extra battery around “just in case”. Now I know that our nagging feeling has a name!

As I learn more about electric vehicle s though, I’m almost certain that our next car will be an EV. There are already a bunch available with estimated ranges of 80-300 miles depending on the vehicle weight, the terrain, and whether you have the AC on. My research has shown me that almost every car manufacturer is making at least one EV, and that list is sure to grow before the decade is over. And, almost by default, the price will come down, and the driving range will increase. Until then, it’s best to always have a plan. Sunita Halasz lives in the Adirondacks, and, in her words: “When we really go anywhere, I have a whole list of phone numbers of friends who live all over the Adirondacks,” Halasz said during a charging stop. “So that at a moment’s notice I can call somebody and be like, ‘Hi, I’m going to pull into your driveway. And do you have an outdoor electrical outlet?’”

As more people get their own Electric Vehicle, more charging stations are being built. Even our little touristy town of 1100 people has a charging station for visitors. If I had an EV, I would keep this page bookmarked on my phone in addition to a list of friends and their phone numbers!

I hope you found this information helpful. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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 fourteen 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. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

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Leaf Peeping Websites To Find the Best Spots

Posted on August 22, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tips

It’s almost autumn and time to start planning our leaf peeping treks to view the leaves as they change. We’re in the mountains of Colorado so we get to see aspens and that’s about it. But before you start feeling sorry for us, you should know that they are gorgeous! (And that’s coming from someone who grew up in the Northeast with the variety of New England trees practically in my backyard.)

Of course, we all have our favorite spots to “leaf peep”, but here are some websites with info on locations and timing, and some news as well.

My favorite site is from Weather.com. This one shows a map of the US and when each region will be at its peak. The mountains in Colorado show late-September, but some of the lower elevations of Colorado show a peak of early to mid-October.
I like this page from New England Today. It provides a good list of what you should bring with you. Besides the obligatory map and camera, there are other items that you’ll want to have as well. One thing it doesn’t mention that you should have is your good manners! Remember to pull all the way off of the roadway when you stop to take pictures. Not everyone on the road is on a leaf peeping vacation. Some of them are trying to get to work or appointments!
This website from the Smoky Mountains gives some of the science behind the leaves color-changing. It also has some downloadable pages for coloring!
For those in Colorado, The Denver Post put together a list of hikes where you can also enjoy the changing aspens.
And if you’re planning on heading out to the Maroon Bells, the Forest Service is gearing up for hordes of leaf-peepers!
This page was a surprise. Apparently lots of folks take train rides through scenic areas to view the foliage.
MSN has put together a list of 16 great places for leaf peeping throughout the US. This page is worth it for the photos alone!
If you’re in the Eastern US, you’ll want to check out this page.
The Boston Globe put together a list of the best New England towns for viewing the foliage.

Was this list helpful? Please share it 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.

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Product Review – Rotating Outlet / Surge Protector

Posted on August 15, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tips

Recently I saw an ad for something called a “rotating outlet”. What madness was this? Something that allowed more than one ginormous plug to be plugged into one surge protecting strip at the same time? Amazing! I had to have one. But which was the best one?

I purchased three of these Rotating Outlet Surge Protectors to check them out. Two are made by Belkin, and the third came from SurgExpert. Of course, when the box arrived, Chris mentioned that he had installed one in his office three years ago. I had just never seen it – or noticed its awesomeness.

When I took them out of the box, I noticed that two of them were virtually identical, right down to the cable management clip to keep the cords out of the way. To test them, I used the same big plugs; one from a router and one that charges multiple USB devices at the same time. On the two power strips, they easily fit side by side, rotated to opposite sides. With the wall outlet, I had to put one on either side. It didn’t allow enough rotation to put them next to each other.

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Rotating Outlet – I review three

Belkin – with 8′ cord and phone protection

I paid $27 for this one. Included with the purchase price is $150,000 or “Connected Equipment Warranty”, so if a lightning strike fries your router or printer, “Belkin will spend, to repair or replace the damaged connected equipment, at Belkin’s option, an amount equal to the fair market value of the damaged equipment…”

Belkin Wall Outlet

I paid $16 for the wall rotating outlet and it comes with a $50,000 “Connected Equipment Warranty” as described above. This one was easy to install, and, for a wall outlet, I think it works pretty well. And in the past few days, I’ve thought of other places that needs this as well.

SurgExpert with 8 Outlets

This Rotating Outlet was also $27, but doesn’t have the phone line protection, and also doesn’t have a “Connected Equipment Warranty”. But it does have a rotating plug which gives you more flexibility when plugging it in. Like the Belkin above, which it is virtually identical to, it also has a cord maintenance clip to help keep your cords organized.

In the end, I liked the SurgExpert the best. It had a more neutral color, and I really like the rotating plug. The Belkin is a better value though, as it comes with the ability to protect a phone line, as well as the warranty. I will also be purchasing another of the Belkin wall outlets. There are places where you don’t need an 8′ extension cord and do want all of your plugs to go to the same place. I can think of several places to install another one of those.

I hope you found this review helpful. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided 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 at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

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More Tips Here:

Are VPNs worth it? More here.
Are you interested in learning more about Extreme Privacy?
We have seen a lot of Facebook hacking lately. Here’s what you should do ahead of time to keep your account safe.
And here are the 10 Password Mistakes you don’t want to make!

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Easy Fixes for Your Mac or PC

Posted on August 8, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tips

Every once in awhile we get called to someone’s home about a problem that has been perplexing them. We get there and, for us, these are easy fixes, and we have the problem resolved within 15 minutes. Of course, I try to screen those calls when they come in and talk the caller through a potential solution, but it doesn’t always work out. Plus, sometimes people just want to have someone else take care of it for them!

Easy Fixes for your Mac or PC — Vintage Geek For Hire – make your computer really cook!

Keep these easy fixes in mind when you run into computer troubles:

The screen on my laptop has cracked and I can’t see anything:
- For the short term, you can plug a monitor into your laptop so that you can see what is on the screen.
- For the long term, you’ll need to decide if you want to replace the screen, or just get a new laptop.
My wireless mouse (or keyboard) isn’t working:
- Check the back to make sure you didn’t accidentally turn it off
- If that doesn’t work, make sure the little dongle you have plugged into one of your USB outlets is plugged in all the way.
- If that doesn’t work, change the batteries.
- If that doesn’t work, plug in a wired keyboard or mouse, or get a new one.
- And if that doesn’t work, there is probably an issue with your machine and it’s time to call in the pros
The keyboard on my laptop isn’t working, or one of the keys doesn’t work.
- For the short term, you can plug an external keyboard in, or use a wireless keyboard
- For the long term, you’ll need to decide if you want to replace the keyboard or just get a new laptop
All of a sudden, I can’t print from my phone or tablet:
- Make sure your phone or tablet is connected to the WiFi
- If that doesn’t solve it, turn everything off and back on again, including the router
- If that doesn’t work, it’s time to call in the pros
My laptop won’t charge
- Does the charging cable sit firmly in the plug/outlet on your laptop? If it doesn’t, you might need to have the plug/outlet replaced on your laptop. You might also consider getting a new machine.
- If you always have the laptop plugged into the same outlet, check that the outlet still works. Plug a lamp in and see if it turns on. If it doesn’t, call your electrician.

Are these Easy Fixes helpful for you? Please forward to a friend!

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7 Great Websites for Tech News

Posted on August 1, 2017June 7, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tech Terms, Tips

Chris and I are always scouring the InterWebs for tech news. What new developments will affect the world of technology? Who has a new gizmo out there and what are the experts saying about it? And, most importantly, what new developments will impact our customers? We have a bunch of favorite websites for tech news that we’d like to share with you:

Chris’ favorite websites for Tech News:

Because he’s the Principal Geek, Chris’ reading tends to be more technical than mine. Here are three of his faves:

Ars Technica – I think this is his most favorite site.
C|Net – I like C|Net too.
Wired – I can’t prove it, but we were one of Wired’s first subscribers to their print magazine!

Gail’s favorite websites for Tech News:

I’m more like an average person with a little bit of tech knowledge. Here are four of my favorites which tend not to be as technically complicated as Chris’ reading:

Fast Company – I like FastCo because they have some pretty engaging content.
Huffington Post – Granted, these articles are “dumbed down” for the masses, but it does give me more of an idea of what people are worried about with their tech right now.
Gizmodo – Lots of gadgets – it’s all about the gadgets.
The Verge – Reviews of lots of trendy new tech toys.

Check out these websites and let us know what you think. Do you have other favorites that we haven’t listed here? Let us know in the comments below. And, as always, If you found this helpful, please forward it!

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How to organize your Gmail to Get to #InBoxZero

Posted on July 25, 2017May 2, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Tips

Recently, a Facebook friend was complaining about all of the emails she had in her Gmail inbox. She ended up deleting any email that was more than one year old! Gmail makes it really easy to organize, so there IS a better way to get to #InboxZero than by deleting everything. If you need help to Organize your Gmail, read on:

Organize Your Gmail:

The first thing you want to do is to think of the email categories (or folders) that are relevant to you. Some basic categories might include:

Friends
- you can even set up one folder for your best friends that you email a lot
Family
- Again, you can set up a separate folder for each family member
Business
- Whether you work for a corporation, or are an entrepreneur, your sub-folders might include Vendors, Marketing, Sales, Etc.
Hobbies
- One folder for each Hobby
Organizations you belong to
- Do you volunteer in your community or belong to professional organizations?

The second step to Organize Your Gmail is to set up the folders (Gmail calls them labels) you think you’ll need. Click on the wheel near the top righthand side. Then click on Settings. The first option is “General”, the second option is “labels”. Click on Labels. Near the bottom of your screen is a button titled “Create New Label”. Click on that.

Next create one label for each of the categories you specified above. For sub-categories, create another label which is”nested” under the main category.
Once you have all your labels created it’s time to move your emails. Don’t worry! you wont be moving each individual email one at a time. You’ll be creating rules to properly filter each email as it arrives into your inbox.
Open (or click on) an email that you would like to file. Then, click on the tag icon at the top of the email and create a label for that email. Next, click on the down arrow on the right side of the Search bar. Enter the email into the email box, or, if it is about a particular subject, enter that into the “Has The Words” box. Be sure to include quote marks if there is more than one word for your search. Then click on “Create Filter With This Search” at the bottom right of the window.
A new box will pop up with your options. Remember to select the correct label for your selection. And, if you have a number of emails already which meet that criteria, click on the “Also apply filter to matching conversations” box. You have a number of other options here too. You can automatically file the email without it reaching your inbox, or you could mark it as important.

Then, follow the same steps to Organize Your Gmail until everything is labeled and neatly filed!

Please forward this to a friend if you found this helpful!

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How to Use your iPhone’s Health App

Posted on July 18, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Apple, Entertainment Apps, iPad, iPhone, Tips

It’s true. You can now use your iPhone’s Health App (and equipment connected to your iPhone) to track many of your body’s functions. For example you can track your heart rate, the Oxygen saturation in your bloodstream, or the number of steps you walk. If you have the iWatch, it can also track how far you swim, how long you stand, and other activities.

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Activity

The iPhone’s Health App will automatically track your steps, flights of stairs climbed, and how many miles you’ve walked, but you do need to always have your phone with you in order for the data to be accurate. If you synch your iWatch with your iPhone, you have access to additional data that is much more accurate.

Mindfulness

There are a number of apps that you can connect to your iPhone’s Health App to help you meditate and practice mindfulness.

Calm: Calm has a few options available for free. Most of the meditations require a monthly, annual, or lifetime subscription. Calm also has bedtime stories to calm you down and help you to get a more restful nights sleep. Calm is rated 5 stars with 1482 reviews.
10% Happier – Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: 10% Happier also has a few meditations available for free, with an option to purchase a monthly or annual subscription. It also has a meditation to help you wind down for sleeping. 10% Happier is rate 5 stars with 676 reviews.
Headspace: Guided Meditation: Like the other two apps, Headspace requires a paid subscription to gain access to most of the meditations. It is rated 5 stars with 592 reviews.

Try them out and see which one works best for you. You may find that you don’t even need to sign up for a paid subscription

Nutrition

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any great apps to track your food intake. The iPhone’s Health app does allow you to manually enter data which is very easy to do. If you take vitamin supplements, you can also enter the amount of Vitamin A, B, etc., that you are consuming. Don’t forget to drink lots of water every day!

Sleep

Getting a good nights sleep is very important to your overall health. And collecting sleep data is the first step in understanding how your productivity is impacted by your sleep. I looked at several different sleep apps, but only Sleep Cycle seems like it will work well:

Sleep Cycle doesn’t require that you place the phone under your pillow. Instead it uses the microphone on your iPhone to track your sleep sounds to determine when you are sleeping and how deeply. It even records you when you snore! Sleep Cycle is rated 5 stars with 1340 reviews

Have you learned more about tracking your health with your iPhone? If you found this helpful, please forward it!

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How to download a PDF to your Kindle

Posted on July 11, 2017June 7, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPad, iPhone, Tips

Wondering how to download a PDF to your Kindle? I have an ancient, first edition Kindle. My brother gave it to me years ago and I have had endless hours of reading pleasure with it. As technology has changed and Kindles have gotten better, I’ve stuck with my original version, primarily because I’ve downloaded the Kindle app onto my iPhone and iPad. Once you log in to your Amazon account, you’ve got access to everything in your Kindle library!

I love real books; the smell of a book that’s been on the shelf for a year and I’m re-reading for the fourth time, the feel of them in my hands, the weight on my chest when I’ve fallen asleep reading, and the cool bookmarks I find and use. But there’s something very convenient about the Kindle. I can carry a couple of tomes on a trip without the additional storage issues.

Another thing I like about the Kindle is that I frequently see free PDFs available to download. Sure it’s nice to have a free book, but if I didn’t have an easy way to read it, I’d pass. It took a while, but I’ve finally figured out how to download a PDF to my Kindle account and can read them there.

(FYI, Hay House frequently has Books from top authors available for free to download a PDF. You do have to sign up for their newsletter, and the free books are only available for a short time. You can also do a search for free books to download to find more.)

Email to Download a PDF:

To upload one of those PDFs to your Kindle account, you’ll need to know your Kindle email. That’s usually easy to find. Log onto your Amazon account, look under your devices, and you should see your Kindle email there. In my case, my Kindle email is my login id followed by “@kindle.com”
Once you know your Kindle address, you can email those PDF’s to that Kindle address. Then when you open your Kindle or Kindle app the next time, you’ll be able to read the book!
Know that Amazon does have a small charge for this service. The last time I uploaded four good size books, I was charged $0.90 for all four.

Transfer to Download a PDF:

You can also transfer the PDF file to your Kindle. You would do this by connecting your Kindle to your computer with the Kindle USB charging cable.
Once the Kindle is connected, locate the Kindle folder using “Finder” or under “Computer”. It might show up as an external memory or hard drive.
Once you know where the Kindle folder is, head over to where you have saved the PDF. I always save mine in the “My eBooks” folder. Highlight the file and copy. Head back to the Kindle folder and paste the file in the Kindle folder under “Documents”.
Once the file is copied onto the Kindle, you’ll be able to access it on your Kindle or on the Kindle app from your Smartphone or Tablet. Remember to click the button to safely disconnect the Kindle!

Now all you have to do is find a quiet time to sit down with your new book!

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4 Articles about Online Privacy

Posted on July 4, 2017May 9, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Facebook, Privacy, Security

If you have been reading my posts for any length of time, you know that my biggest bug a boo is privacy. Second, of course, is security. In hopes that others will want to learn a little about privacy, I’ve searched the interwebs for some of the best articles out there right now about why online privacy on your electronic devices is important.

As Marsha Blackburn of US News and World Report says:

“Online privacy is an issue that continues to rightfully concern Americans. According to research by IBM, over ninety percent of the world’s data has been generated in the last two years alone. The explosion of smartphones and internet-connected devices has Americans utilizing online services to do everything from grocery shopping to tracking their health. However, increased reliance on online services has made Americans more conscious about how they share sensitive personal information…”

Who else besides me uses their phone for everything from buying coffee to checking Facebook to tracking steps? That’s a lot of info that goes out into the “cloud”. Is it safe?

It’s important to remember that the onus is on you to keep your own data secure as these people who sued Facebook found out. They thought that once they had logged out of Facebook, it should not be able to track their browsing history. In this article, the Judge presiding over the case said no.

“Judge dismisses lawsuit accusing Facebook of tracking users’ activity, saying responsibility was on plaintiffs to keep browsing history private. …. US district judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, dismissed the case because he said that the plaintiffs failed to show that they had a reasonable expectation of privacy or suffered any realistic economic harm or loss. …. Davila said that plaintiffs could have taken steps to keep their browsing histories private…”

And Alfred Ng reports in c|net that some of the bargain phones are sending info to a server in China.

“People have enough to worry about when it comes to privacy on their personal devices. Between government surveillance and security vulnerabilities, preinstalled software on the phone itself is an unexpected breach of both trust and privacy for millions of owners who are just looking for an inexpensive phone. ….. Having access to the command and control channel — a communications route between your device and a server — allowed Adups to execute commands as if it’s the user, meaning it could also install apps, take screenshots, record the screen, make calls and wipe devices without needing permission.”

Privacy has become such an issue that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case later this year. This article in Reuters describes much of the case.

“The case reaches the high court amid growing scrutiny of the surveillance practices of U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies amid concern among lawmakers across the political spectrum about civil liberties and police evading warrant requirements.

The legal fight has raised questions about how much companies protect the privacy rights of their customers. The big four wireless carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, receive tens of thousands of requests a year from law enforcement for what is known as “cell site location information,” or CSLI. The requests are routinely granted.

The Supreme Court has twice in recent years ruled on major cases concerning how criminal law applies to new technology, on each occasion ruling against law enforcement. In 2012, the court held that a warrant is required to place a GPS tracking device on a vehicle. Two years later, the court said police need a warrant to search a cellphone that is seized during an arrest.

Civil liberties lawyers have said that police need “probable cause,” and therefore a warrant, in order to avoid constitutionally unreasonable searches.”

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Apps for Messaging

Posted on June 27, 2017June 7, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips

Do you frequently text your friends and family members? Do you use different messaging apps for different people, or always the same app no matter who it is going to?

I use three different apps for sending messages, each for different reasons. There are things I like about each one, and things I don’t.

I use the basic texting app that came with the phone. I use this for most of my friends and all of my family. I like it because it is easy and convenient to use. I can use it to send texts or messages to multiple people. I can send photos and emojis. I can even send a handwritten message! One thing I don’t like about the basic texting is that it’s not all that secure.
I have also installed WhatsApp. A few years ago a group of my friends were texting using the basic app and several people wouldn’t always receive the text messages. It was very frustrating! So we looked at several messaging apps and decided on WhatsApp. I especially like it because it encrypts all the messages keeping your info safer.
I finally broke down and installed Facebook Messenger. I hadn’t wanted to use it because I just don’t trust Facebook to keep my info secure. I also don’t trust them to not sell my information to their many advertisers. But, several weeks ago I needed to get in touch with a Facebook friend but did not have their phone number to text them. And, so many of my friends are using it too. I still feel like I sold out!

Which messaging Apps do you use? Why do you like each one? Let us know in the comments below!

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