A smart phone for the cheapskate: LG Optimus V

Is it an iPhone? No.  If it's not an iPhone, why would I want it?

Having to pay your own cell phone bill is a double-edged sword.  Finally I can get whichever phone I want on any network I choose.  Oh darn, all the good phones are on the Big 4 carriers with plans starting at an organ donation per month.  So what did I do?  I chose option three.  Virgin Mobile.  For only $25 dollars a month, yes that says $25 a month,  I get unlimited text and data along with 300 minutes.  Did I mention that it's only 25 dollars per month?

"Surely a prepaid carrier can only have the bottom bin of crap phones" was something I used to think all the time.  I was wrong.  Finally catching up into the 21st century, VM is offering two Android phones on their network.  I selected the LG Optimus V to be my new phone for two reasons: Price and usability.  Firstly, the Optimus V was cheaper than the alternate Samsung phone offered on VM by at least 50 dollars.  Second, the LG Optimus received much better reviews for usablility than the Samsung phone. 

User Account Control In Windows 7 and Vista

Question:  What is User Account Control and why does it keep popping up?

Answer:  Simply stated, User Account Control, or UAC for short, is a "security" feature built into Windows Vista and Windows 7.  I use the word security lightly, because I have yet to see it actually protect against anything. The idea behind UAC was to make users verify that they were the ones which initiated a program capable of modifying computer settings and data, and that it was not some rouge process or malicious software trying to install itself.

Google pushing "Cloud" agenda with Chrome apps

As a follow up to my recent cloud computing article, I thought it appropriate to share a little bit about what Google is doing with Chrome.  If you run Chrome on your computer, you may have noticed recently a  section on the "New Tab" page called "Apps."  If you click on the "Web Store" button, you will be taken to a page that look much like an app market place that you would see on your smart phone.  Most of the apps in the Chrome store at the moment are free.  If you enjoy the app experience that you get from your phone, but want to experience apps on a larger screen, try Chrome apps.  Many of the same free apps you find in the Android market place are available in the Chrome store.

The addition of apps to Chrome comes as no surprise.  Google is going full speed ahead with the development of cloud based software, and what better way to accustom people to using cloud software than by adding it to their desktop web browser.  Chrome apps is merely a bridge from desktop computing to full cloud computing.  Eventually, Google will have a production version of Chrome OS; essentially an operating system which will run nothing but a Chrome browser.  Since Chrome OS will not have any software but the browser, apps running in a Chrome browser will be used instead.

If you already use Chrome, open up a new tab and check out the Chrome Web store.  If you aren't using Chrome yet, you are probably stuck in 2005, in which case you won't read this article for another six years.  Do yourself a favor and check out Chrome apps.  Not only will they enhance your web browsing experience, they will also make your life easier.

A quick rant

Occasionally I have to register as a new user on website in order to use their services.  It makes me mad enough that I have to register, because the site is too backward to use a Google or Facebook login. Then they force you to come up with a very secure password in order to proceed. After you type your very secure password twice, then they make you read some text that looks like it came from a page in a book that a cat pissed on.  These are called CAPTCHAs.  Lastly, you must check your email ink inbox for a verification link.  All of that is actually fine by me.  What truly enrages me is when the site after all of those security measures sends you a welcome email containing your username and password.  This practice is on the same level of horrible security as keyhider rocks and passwords on sticky notes.  This is the kind of thing that makes me want smash my face on my keyboard.  If you own a website, please do not send people their passwords over email!!

Android tablets the hackers way: Rooting a Nook Color

We all have those sudden urges to buy some hot new piece of technology.  Most of us don't however immediately void the warranty by hacking it.  I don't happen to be one of those people.  Having contemplated my purchase for a week or so, there was no way that I wasn't going to hack my Nook Color as soon as I had the wrapper off.

I don't feel any need to dive into an unboxing here, so I will save it.  After having opened the box and tossing it aside, I went online and downloaded the version of autonooter for my Nook.  The ten minutes that it took for autonooter to download was literally all the time that I spent using the stock Nook color.  The rooting process is quite simple and took me less than fifteen minutes to do.

The Future is in the Cloud

You are not alone if you have been wondering what all this hype about the “cloud” is all about. What is “the cloud” and what makes it so great? Essentially, “the cloud” is a term which refers to the Internet. Therefore, “cloud computing” refers to the offloading of computing tasks to a solution based on the Internet. This approach has several key advantages over desktop computing: Portability, cross platform compatibility, ease of maintenance, and data security. While these are surely not the only things that set cloud computing apart from traditional computing, these are the most important.

iPad Review

I always thought that I had a phobia to Apple products due to their incompatibility to most enterprise and professional programs on the market. I have especially criticized the iPad for being just a large iPod with no added functionality. But recently, I was looking for a portable system to take with me between my house and college. Someone suggested the iPad, and I laughed at the notion. However, I looked into it and decided I would go ahead and take the plunge. In no time, I had the iPad ordered.

Power user features made easy: System Imaging

System images have long been used in corporate network environments for simultaneously restoring scores of computers to their original states.  The same technique also works well on the small scale.  Many people complain about their computers becoming slow over time, at which point, reformatting and reinstalling the operating systems becomes the only option.  This is where imaging saves the day.  The average user doesn't want to spend the time to back up all of their data and reinstall all of their programs, a process that can take days.  A system image is essentially a complete copy of your system state at the time it is made.  When the image is written back to the drive, your system will be exactly the way it was when you made the image.  I suggest making an image a week to a month after getting a new computer, this way you have time to install programs and tweak settings to your liking.  Hit read more to see how to create and restore from system images in Windows 7.

How to Re-enable Aero Transparency in Windows 7

When running an older piece of software or game, transparency in Windows 7 will be disabled for compatibility reasons.  Normally after the program is closed, transparency will enable again and your windows will be pretty.  On occasion however, Windows will not restart Aero, the service that handles transparency.  You can manually restart Aero without rebooting.  To do this, open the "Start" menu and type cmd.  Now right on "cmd.exe" and choose "Run as Administrator."  Then type net stop uxsms, wait for the service to stop, then type  net start uxsms.  Now your windows should look "normal" again with transparency.  This fix should also work under Windows Vista.

Blocking ads in Firefox and Chrome

Nobody really likes ads on web pages or enjoys watching crappy commercials. Devices like Tivo give television viewers the option to jump through commercials.  If people skip TV commercials, then why would people put up with huge flashing ads on web pages?  Is it because people don't know about a way to remove ads?  Ahh, but there is an easy solution to block ads.  AdBlock Plus is an extension for Firefox and Chrome which automatically filters most ads from pages, and can even stop the ads inside Youtube videos from appearing.

Ask and Ye shall receive

A few days ago while verifying my online bank statement with my accounting software, I noticed a small difference in my savings account.  My online banking website noted two small charges for some kind of maintenance fee.  What the hell?  A maintenance fee on my savings account?  The fees were worth more than I would make in interest over a few years.  A little ticked, I contemplated what to to.  I could just sit and be pissed about it, but I decided to call my bank and complain.  The helpful lady who answered the phone quickly reversed the charges and changed my account to a package that didn't have the maintenance fees.  I didn't even have to threaten to take my money to another bank.  She just told me that I had an account with fees and fixed the problems.  Just like that.  The whole ordeal took less than ten minutes including time on hold.  I guess that the banks figure most people will accept the charges without fight, so the people that do call are the ones that get their money back.  Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

Diagnosing network problems in Windows

We all have those days where our computers give us nothing but trouble.  Even tech experts are not immune to problems.  Network connectivity issues are among the most common of problems, and are one of the most difficult for mainstream users to fix unaided.  Next time you have a have trouble connecting to the internet, try diagnosing the issue yourself before wasting your time calling tech support.

Managing multiple email accounts with Thunderbird

If you are like me , then you probably have more than one email account.  And really, who doesn't these days.  You may even have more than one Gmail account, which can be hard to manage unless you have multiple sign in enabled in you Gmail settings.  But by far the easiest way to manage all of your email accounts in one place is with Thunderbird.  Thunderbird is an email client by Mozilla, the makers of Firefox.

Whether you run Windows, Mac or Linux, Thunderbird will work for you.  The newest version of T-Bird makes setting up accounts really easy.  You don't have to enter the name of your email servers anymore.  When you go to make an account, it will ask for your name, email address, and password.  Thunderbird figures out all the rest and finishes setting up you accounts.  It also has a feature called unified folders.  This  lets you view all your in-boxes, sent mail, trash, and archived mail from all your accounts together.  Of course you can still view them separately if you prefer.  Another handy feature of T-bird is the search feature.  Most other email clients have the search buried in some menu, but T-bird puts it right on the main page where it's easy to get to.  You also don't need to choose filters anymore before searching.  And, just like Firefox, Thunderbird has an extensive library of extensions if the vanilla program doesn't do everything you need it to do.  There are lots of extensions which add all sorts of functionality, including calendars, contact management, and news reading.  I use the Zindus contact sync extension to synchronize my contacts back and forth between my Gmail accounts.  This is useful when I have to log into the Gmail website from another computer, because all of my Thunderbird contacts will show up in Gmail.  Of course, these are just a few noteworthy features of Thunderbird, but there are many more.

If you are looking for a better way to read your email, try Thunderbird.   It is available here at Mozilla's website.

Catalyst 11.1 Drivers now available for ATI/AMD video cards

The long wait is finally over, as AMD has released its new Catalyst 11.1 driver.  This driver brings native Linux support for the Radeon 6xxx series.  Sadly, my card still does not seem to be recognized by the driver properly.  I will have to do some digging in order to find out what is wrong here.  The driver also offers performance improvements on Left 4 Dead 2 on the Radeon 6xxx series under Windows, although I have not been able to confirm this yet.  As soon as I get a reason to boot back into Windows, I will get some performance numbers.  Download the new driver here if you have an ATI/AMD card.

Strange New Worlds

No, I am not talking about exploring outer space or visiting alien planets.  What I am referring to is the world of open source software, and more specifically, Linux.
I had previously rejected Linux as being a viable replacement for an everyday desktop operation system, but now that I have been using it for a while, I realize just how wrong I was.  Windows fanboys will claim that the average user won't like Linux because the average user does not want to use a command line.  Or because it doesn't run their favorite programs.  The thing is, the average user doesn't have to use a command line, and Linux doesn't have to run their favorite programs.