When Should I Turn Off My Computer?

Posted on January 8, 2019January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Apple, Desktop, iMac, iPad, Laptops, Mac's, PC's, Technology Tips, Tips

When I got my first computer, I would turn it off every time I left my office for more than a half hour. A few years later I would turn it off when I left for the day. Now, I’ll turn it off a couple of times a week. Why the change? Have you ever wondered: When Should I Turn Off My Computer? You might wonder how often you need to turn off your machine, or if you even need to turn it off at all!

Here’s what Chris says:

“I really wish Gail would turn her machine off more frequently!”

Do I need to turn off my machine?

The short answer is Yes! When you turn it off the machine will clean itself, reorganize files, empty the trash, install any updates, and generally make itself faster and more efficient for the next time you turn it on. Other reasons to turn your machine off include saving power.

It’s really a balancing act. The process of turning your machine off and back on takes its toll on the mechanics of your computer. But leaving the machine on all the time does the same thing. If you use your machine constantly throughout the day, by all means, leave it on. If you access your machine from a remote location, then you definitely need to keep it on most of the time!

When should I turn off my computer?

Every couple of days save all of your documents, close all of your applications, and turn the machine off. Leave it off overnight, or just for a few minutes.

If you use it for only an hour or two at a time, then you should turn it off when you are done. If you know you won’t use your machine all weekend, you should turn it off.But, if you use your machine all day long, there’s really no need to turn it off every day. Turning your machine off once a week should be sufficient.

Remember, when you turn off your machine, don’t do it with the power button. Use the off button on the screen menu. This allows the machine to shut off gracefully.

General computer health & Well-being:

Some other things you should do for the general health and well-being of your machine are:

Always use a surge protector. These help even out any power spikes so that they don’t damage your machine. We also advise that you use a UPS (Universal Power Supply). This is a battery backup system that protects your equipment from power surges and provides a limited time of battery life. This is helpful when you’re in the middle of working on a project when the power goes out. It gives you enough time to finish up and save everything. (There is an annoying and frequent beep to let you know that you are using battery power.)
During lightning storms, you should turn off AND unplug all of your electronics. Even a surge protector can’t always help protect your equipment if there is a nearby lightning strike.
Uninstall and delete any programs that you are no longer using. Even if you’re not running a program, it may still be processing in the background. This will undermine the efficiency of your machine. (Yes, we can help you with this if you don’t feel comfortable choosing which programs to uninstall.)
Keep your machine clean! Periodically open it up and remove all the dust and pet hair that have accumulated. Dust tends to accumulate on the fan, which is there to keep your machine cool. If too much dust is there, the fan won’t run properly and your machine will overheat. (We can help you with this too!)
Finally, When Should I Turn Off My Computer? At least once a week!

Please forward this to your colleagues who ALWAYS leave their machine running.

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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. 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 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.

Location Privacy and your Smartphone

Posted on December 11, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Privacy, Technology Tips, Tips

There was another article this week about Location Privacy and “Services” on your smartphone. I have services in quotes because I don’t think the entity being served is the person using the phone.

According to this article, Smartphone applications can and do gather and collect location information on individual smartphones. Then they sell that data. Marketing firms can find out who is in the ER and sell that list to Legal Firms, or who is at Victoria’s Secret and sell it to Macy’s. Privacy, especially location privacy is on its way out.

Most smartphone users don’t really lock down their security settings, sticking with the default settings that came with the phone. When they add a new app to their phone, they may not think to check what data they are sharing with the app developer. When the app asks if they can access the user’s location, they may think it makes sense to share their location, without know what the app will do with that raw data.

What do Marketing Firms really need to know?

As I read through the article, I found the whole thing very disturbing. Should anyone really know that one woman, a middle school teacher, went hiking, goes to the gym, visited a dermatologist, and stayed overnight in another home? While location data is supposed to be anonymous, the specificity of the data means that companies are able to track the location of a smartphone down to the minute. From the article:

“Elina Greenstein, an executive at the location company GroundTruth, mapped out the path of a hypothetical consumer from home to work to show potential clients how tracking could reveal a person’s preferences. For example, someone may search online for healthy recipes, but GroundTruth can see that the person often eats at fast-food restaurants.”

By tracking the smartphone, you can track the person. If you can connect the smartphone location to home and work, you can figure out the person, and track all of their other activities.

Why would you want to share your location information?

There are lots of reasons to share your location. Getting good traffic information is one. Getting the weather is another. But once you’ve checked the forecast, do you really want The Weather Channel (owned by IBM) to continue tracking your location?

What should I do?

I take location privacy very seriously, so here’s what I do. About once a month I go through my list of apps and see which I’m sharing my location with. I turn off location sharing for any apps that don’t need my location to provide a service; social media accounts for example. Then I make sure that I am only sharing my location with apps /WHILE THAT APP IS IN USE/. (I do need to remember to close down the app when I’m done.)

How do I ensure my location privacy?

For the iPhone, click on the “Settings” icon, then scroll down to “Privacy”. Click on “Location Services”, and then scroll through each of your apps.

I borrowed a friend’s Android phone to see how she would do this. Again, click on “settings”, then “apps”. At that point, you need to open each app to adjust the location sharing setting. Once you’ve opened the app, click on “Permissions” and adjust the location privacy settings.

Please forward this to your colleagues to help keep their online privacy safe too. Did I forget some critical advice, or do you have questions? Let me know 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.

Great Tech Recommendations

Posted on November 20, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips, Tips

I once heard that Black Friday was so named by the accountants at retail stores; back when accountants kept paper records and used red ink for losses and black ink for profits. It was said that the Friday after Thanksgiving was usually the first day all year that retail stores made a profit. Anyone else have a better theory?!

Regardless of the silly theories, just about every day, Chris makes suggestions to our customers and friends about helpful technology. I’ve looked through some of his past emails and pulled out a few of the products he has recommended over the past few months. With Black Friday coming up, you may be able to get some great deals – Take a look! (Note, some of these are affiliate links.)

WiFi Router:

Chris likes the Netgear Nighthawk AC2300 Router. It has built in protection against malware, it can prioritize your traffic, it’s compatible with the Echo and Alexa, and has built in parental controls. It generally lists for $200. Amazon has it for $167.

External Hard Drive:

When you want to make sure all your data is secure, an external hard drive can’t be beat. Make sure you get one that is big enough to hold all of your data. Chris likes this one from Western Digital. One or two terabytes is generally enough space. If you take a lot of photos and videos, get a bigger one. The 1 TB generally lists for $80. Amazon has it for $55.

Blue Tooth Speaker:

We’ve had this JBL speaker for a while now and really like it. Not a huge discount here. It lists for $82 and Amazon sells it for $78, but it’s a great speaker.

Battery Pack:

A portable charger that you can carry around with you can be a lifesaver. The more we use our phones during the day, the more we may have to recharge it mid day. I got this one a year or so ago and love it. It will charge my phone several times before running out of juice! This one is about $25 from Amazon.

Holiday Ornaments:

If you’re looking for something fun, you can’t beat Think Geek. The best place for all things geeky and fun. They’ve got Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Star Wars, Rick & Morty, Dr. Who, Marvel, etc. etc.!

Best Black Friday Deals:

Most of the tech stores will have special Black Friday deals all week, so check which outlet has the best deals for you. Also, you should be able to order online and not have to deal with the craziness in the physical store. You can try Staples or NewEgg for any of these products as well.

Black Friday Geek For Hire Coupon!

The best deal of all? Purchase an hour or two with the geek now at a 20% Discount – you can use it later or give it as a gift! (Purchase before “CyberMonday”. So, November 20-26, 2018). Fill out our Contact Form with your details, and I’ll mail a coupon to you. Tired of helping your mom/dad/aunt/friend with their computer and network issues? This is a perfect holiday gift for them!

Was this helpful? Please forward it to your colleagues!

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 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 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.)

Been Pwned? How Do I Find Out If This Impacts Me?

Posted on October 17, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Hackers, Passwords, Tips

2019 January 22 UPDATE: Based on recent news stories, the “been pwned” information has been updated here:

https://geekforhireinc.com/pwned-has-your-email-been-compromised/

Although this website has been around for a few years, I’ve only just found out about it. It’s called Have I Been Pwned and it lets you know if your email address has been compromised in any way.

A little history about the word Pwned:

The Urban Dictionary postulates that Pwned came into use after one of the designers for the game Warcraft typo’d “has been pwned” instead of “has been owned”. Another Urban Dictionary contributor says it is actually a commonly used chess term, where you use your pawn to check your opponent. Regardless of the various definitions, the word essentially means that you have been owned or dominated.

Have I Been Pwned?

Head over to Have I Been Pwned to find out if your email and other personal information has been hacked by bad operators. They will also tell you on which websites or apps the data breach has occurred. For example, I found out that my both my personal and business emails have been pwned. I immediately changed the password for both accounts. It also told me that the breach came from my Dropbox account. I then changed my login information on Dropbox as well. Another breach occurred on my LinkedIn account so I changed my info there too.

What can you do to keep your information safe?

Change your password frequently. I change my passwords every 3-6 weeks.
Never use the same password again!
MOST IMPORTANT: Use a password that is hard to guess. Make sure you use at least 10 characters. You should use at least one of each of the following: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a special character. I always end with punctuation too. Lately, I’ve been using book titles to craft secure passwords. So “The New Relationship Marketing” would become “th3NewRel@t1onshipMarket1ng;” (Check it out. It’s a great book by Mari Smith.)
Next, always keep track of your passwords using a secure system. I use a password protected spreadsheet. (I’ve recently heard of two people who lost access to their online password tracking system. They had to go to each of their apps and change their passwords!)

Let me know if you have a great tip for setting up great, secure passwords.

Here’s some more reading on the whole pwned subject:

Please forward this to your colleagues who never change their passwords.

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. His company is highly rated by both the BBB 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.

Secure WiFi on Vacation

Posted on August 7, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Security, SmartPhones, Tips

Growing up with a Dad who was a psychiatrist, August was always the month for vacations. (As I got older I used to worry about his patients who were left alone for an entire month!) There are some things you can do to make sure you have secure WiFi wherever you are in the world. The most important is keeping your WiFi use safe and secure.

Here are some steps to take before and during your vacation:

Set up a throwaway email before you leave. While you are gone, you will be asked numerous times for your email address. Lots of times, they just won’t take “no” for an answer. Head over to Google’s Gmail sign up page for a new (free) account. Remember the password, and be sure you set up auto-forwarding to your main email address. You’ll want your smartphone to be able to receive any access codes that may be sent.
When you’re going for free WiFi, try to use well-known companies. For example, Starbucks or the Hilton are well known for their secure WiFi and aren’t likely to steal your info for nefarious use.
Whatever you do, don’t try to connect to WiFi with names like “TellMy WiFi LuvHer”, or “FBI Surveillance Van” or “Hacker 547”. (Yes, I’ve seen all of those.) Remember the old adage – “If it’s free, YOU are the product”. Think about what they might be getting out of the transaction to provide you with free WiFi.
Sometimes the rest stops on the Interstate highways will have free secure WiFi, but only if you provide them with your email address and zip code. This is where that new throw-away email comes in handy. If they do ask for your name and zip, remember that you don’t have to give them your real info.

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.

Trialing VPN – My First Impressions

Posted on July 24, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips

I have been trialing VPN. Chris installed NordVPN on my phone and tablet a few weeks ago so I have had a chance to use it and get comfortable with it. I’m still trying to figure out why I really need it. Why would anyone be interested in what I am doing on the internet? Chris has reminded me that it’s not just what I search for, but also the information that I transmit. So, sure, once I log into Facebook, they will know what I click on and the posts that I read, but they won’t know that a half-hour ago I bought pink Ugg boots at Marshall’s.

Here are my initial impressions from trialing VPN:

On my phone, Chris had to make some changes so that my phone stayed logged into the VPN. For the first few days whenever I moved from one WiFi location to another, or from WiFi to cellular, the VPN would drop and I would have to reconnect it. Now the VPN is persistent even as I drive or walk around.
I like that I can connect to a VPN almost anywhere in the world. Chris has experimented with connecting in the UK. Then he can see what is on the BBC that is not available in Colorado.
There are times when the VPN seems to slow things down, especially on my phone and tablet. When that happens, I disconnect and then reconnect to my WiFi and that seems to help.
There have been times when I cannot send emails from my phone when connected to the VPN. We’re still trying to figure out what that happens. In the meantime, I turn off the VPN, send the email, and then reconnect.

We like NordVPN – Get it here!

If you need help setting up your VPN, contact us for an appointment.

Are you trialing a VPN? Which one? What are your impressions? Please let me 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) 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 I earn from qualifying purchases.

Private Search Engines & Your Internet Safety

Posted on April 10, 2018January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Google, Internet Searching, Privacy, Technology Tips

When we first started using Google, who would have thought that we’d want Private Search Engines in 2018? Privacy on the internet is something we used to take for granted. No one knew that we were logging into weird sites or making questionable purchases. That’s all changed now. Google tracks us. Facebook tracks us. Even Amazon knows that we bought those pink Ugg boots at Marshalls.

Last year I learned about a search engine that doesn’t track our searches. I have installed it on my phone, my tablet, and my laptop. It was easy to do. While my level of trust with technology is somewhat lower than it was five years ago, I do feel good about using DuckDuckGo.

But as I started researching this article, I wondered what other search engines are out there. It turns out that there are several from which to choose.

PRIVATE SEARCH ENGINES:

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is the one of the first private search engines I became aware of. I found that the app was easy to install on all of my devices. I like their privacy policy which is described on their website:

“DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information. That is our privacy policy in a nutshell.”

However, SearchEncrypt doesn’t think DuckDuckGo is as secure as it could be. Here’s a description of its major flaw on the SearchEncrypt website:

“DuckDuckGo is a private search engine. It is adamant about spreading privacy around the internet. However, there is one issue we discovered that raises privacy concerns. Your search terms, while they may be sent over your network in an encrypted form, show up in plain text in browsing history. DDG may work well for reducing advertiser tracking, avoiding filter bubbles, and limiting data profiling, however as this post explains, it may not offer the protection from surveillance organizations that some think.”

StartPage:

StartPage was originally developed in New York as the Ixquick private search engine. It was then acquired by a Dutch company and so most of its growth was in Europe. Now, they are becoming more well known around the world, including the US. They do utilize Google to get their results. I like how they define “Personal Information”

“Information is regarded as personal when it tells something about a human being who is or can be (uniquely) identified.
This definition stems from European law, which applies to StartPage, and is intentionally broad in order to provide a high level of privacy protection. This means, for example, that not just names and e-mail addresses can be personal information, but also numbers or other identifiers, such as your IP-address, to the extent that they link other information to a specific human being.”

SearchEncrypt:

According to HackerNoon, this is a newer edition to the private search engines. But SearchEncrypt is gaining users. Here is HackerNoon‘s description:

“This private search engine uses local encryption to secure your searches. It combines with AES-256 encryption with Secure Sockets Layer encryption. Search Encrypt then retrieves your search results from its network of search partners. After you’re done searching, your search terms expire so they are private even if someone else has access to your computer. Search Encrypt is a relatively new addition to this list, but it is growing quickly. Its Alexa Traffic Rank of 878 indicates that it receives millions of visitors daily.”

More About Private Search Engines:

If you’re looking for other private Search Engines, you can find a few listed in this article.

How do you do your Internet searches? Are you using Google, Yahoo!, or something else?

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 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 on 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 days for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

(Any links to products or services in this post may be affiliate links. If they are, we may receive a small commission when you click on it. Rest assured, your price will be the same!)

4G Service – What the heck is that?

Posted on May 23, 2017January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Tech Terms, Technology Tips, Tips

Have you ever wondered what 4G service is? Have you wondered what the code is next to your cell phone bars of service? For example, right now my iPhone shows 4 dots (out of 5) and the code LTE. It looks like this:

What the heck does this mean? And sometimes when I complain to Chris about my lousy cell quality he’ll ask me what kind of service I have. Invariably the answer is “3G”. What the heck is that?! Basically, my phone is currently providing me with 4G service so that I can surf the internet and send videos to my friends with wild abandon!

A little history:

When we first started using cell phones, they were for voice and simple texting only, which doesn’t take as much bandwidth as data does. Gradually, the sophistication of the phones, and the service provided on the cell towers, improved. Using vast amounts of creative thought in naming each new improvement, they were named 2G, 3G, 4G, and the yet to be released 5G. (The “G” stands for Generation, so the 4G or 4th Generation phones are better than the 2G phones.)

I like the way PC Magazine explains the difference in the different generations: “1G was analog cellular. 2G technologies, such as CDMA, GSM, and TDMA, were the first generation of digital cellular technologies. 3G technologies, such as EVDO, HSPA, and UMTS, brought speeds from 200kbps to a few megabits per second. 4G technologies, such as WiMAX and LTE, were the next incompatible leap forward, and they are now scaling up to hundreds of megabits and even gigabit-level speeds.”

At the beginning of this year, AT&T shut down their 2G network. It was state-of-the-art when it was first introduced in 2000, but 17 years later it’s totally obsolete. Engadget put it this way:

“The shutdown is also a reminder of just how far mobile data has come since 2G hit the scene (in the US, at the turn of the millennium). EDGE was considered fine at a time when any mobile data was a relative novelty, and the most you did with it was check email or surf the most basic of websites. Now, even a modestly-sized app or photo download would absolutely crush 2G — the modern mobile internet depends on speeds that are orders of magnitude faster. We can only imagine what it’ll be like when 3G bites the dust and LTE is considered the baseline.”

4G Service

According to Wiki, LTE or 4G service provides your phone with technologies that “include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television.”

5th Generation

The 5G technology is still being defined, but you can expect to see it in the next year or two. In the meantime AT&T and Verizon are launching pre-5G which will increase speeds and decrease latency.

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 if you sign up.)

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New Headphones – Should I get Bluetooth?

Posted on March 28, 2017January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Laptops, Tips

Chris convinced me to get a new iPhone last week, so I upgraded to the newish iPhone 7. I had heard that Apple had merged the charging jack with the headphone jack but hadn’t realized that would be an issue. Well, it is! Of course, Apple provides a dongle to convert the lightning jack to a jack for the headphones, which can be used as long as you’re not charging. The problem most people will run into is that protective covers don’t have access to the lightning jack.

With my last iPhone, I was very happy with the protective qualities of the Mophie. So when I got this new iPhone, I also purchased a Mophie case to protect it and provide additional battery backup. The only outward-facing jack is the standard USB jack. There’s no option here to plug in headphones or a headset.

New technology – aka Bluetooth Headphones – here we come!

The saleswoman at the AT&T store showed me two Bluetooth-connected headphones, but both were very expensive. The one she particularly liked is made by Beats. But, at almost $200, it was out of my price range. The one she used herself, which she described as “okay”, was still well over $100. I was wondering if there aren’t good quality (and highly rated) Bluetooth over-the-ear headphones I could find for under $50? No matter how much I searched online, the answer was “no”.

I ended up going to our local Best Buy store to see for myself what my options were. Sometimes it’s just better to hold the box in your hands before deciding what to purchase. The salesman agreed with my extensive online research; I wouldn’t be able to get a decent set of headphones for under $50. He pointed me towards a couple of less expensive headphones that had received good reviews. One, at $80, was reviewed well, but it had earbuds and was not what I wanted.

Next, he showed me a pair of Sony headphones. I’m partial to the Sony brand, so I was (as the Ferengi say) “all ears”. I ended up purchasing the Sony MDR-ZX220BT. At $80, these weren’t too far off of my budget. The headphones are actually “ON” the ear and not “Over-The-Ear”, but I’m very happy with the sound quality. They were easy to pair with my iPhone and laptop too.

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 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.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

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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Photo Editing Apps for your iPhone

Posted on March 21, 2017January 13, 2025 by Gail Eddy in Laptops, Tips

Most Smartphones take pretty decent photos. And you can do some minor things to make them a little better, but there are a whole bunch of photo editing apps out there that can take you to a whole ‘nother level.

Banana on Keyboard (Photo editing using Prisma Mondrian Filter) — Banana on Keyboard

Art

“Prisma transforms your photos and videos into works of art using the styles of famous artists: Van Gogh, Picasso, Levitan, as well as world famous ornaments and patterns. A unique combination of neural networks and artificial intelligence helps you turn memorable moments into timeless art pieces.” The photo on the right was created using the “mondrian” filter.

Labels

This by Tinrocket gives you an easy way to add labels to your photos. It’s easy to use, and you can add multiple labels.

General Editing:

MaxCurve is a very highly rated photo editing app. It allows you to play with the exposure and color levels; tone down the cyan and turn up the magenta. Here’s a tutorial to get the most out of the app.

Image Editor gives you the ability to change a photo into a meme, to focus on one point and blur the rest of the photo, to draw, to add a frame, and much more.

When you want to post a photo online, either for social media or your blog, you want to have a photo that loads quickly and is not at the mercy of download speeds. Resize Image lets you do just that. We’re not talking about cropping photos so that you get rid of extraneous background. We’re talking about taking a photo as it is and changing it from a 1 gig file to a 100kb file with all the detail intact.

If you do want to crop a photo, I like Photo Crop. There are times when you want to keep the original photo, but also crop part of the background out. When you crop a photo in the iPhone Photo app, it “loses” the original. When you use Photo Crop, you can keep the original, and play with it too.

What are your favorite photo editing apps? Please share in the comments below!

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