But, Why not?

Since Apple’s conversion to Intel’s Core 2 system architecture, there have been people all over the world asking questions like “Can we run Windows on a Mac?” and other similar questions. The answers to these questions are becoming yes – no matter how hard Apple tries to control what you can do on their hardware.

Recently, there was a huge debate about a Mac Clone device that could run OS X and was not Apple-certified. I saw two distinct reactions from the community:

1. Because it is cheaper, it won’t work as well.
2. Finally! A cheap way to try OS X!

I have also been reading business reports showing that Apple is going to have to do some things to maintain its market after dominating the MP3 player arena. Analysts say Apple needs to do something to keep revenue coming in.

There is a simple solution that will earn Apple money, give DIY users – like many that read our website – full control over their systems, and still gives Apple control over the market itself.

Build Your Own Mac

Let’s say Apple licenses its architecture to a few hardware manufacturers. Let’s use Samsung, Corsair, Asus, Intel, Seagate, and Lite-on to develop individual hardware components which meet certain specifications, yet can be purchased individually. We can have Apple-certified hard drives, motherboards, processors, RAM, and optical drives. Then, distribute these parts through etailers like Newegg and allow them for sale to a wide audience of DIY customers at a reasonable price. The customer who wants to venture into this can get what they want – a computer that will run OS X, with the satisfaction of building it themselves and at a decent price. Apple earns revenue for sitting back and watching the market make their products more popular.

One of the prohibitive things that keeps me from buying an Apple computer is simply cost. I can’t afford to spend twice as much money on a computer that has the same functionality of a PC. Apple makes nice computers. No doubt there. But I won’t be buying one for a long time (if ever) because of the way PCs handle the market. If I can build a PC and have ownership of what I put in there, I will do it any day over purchasing a pre-built Mac. Especially when considering the price.

So, why would it hurt for Apple to allow its user’s to build their own Macs? It makes perfect sense to me that they should embrace the huge market and interest that would be generated by this business model. Hell, it might even drop the price of an Apple-built computer down to a more reasonable level by increasing Apple’s revenue elsewhere?

In closing, Apple should open up its computer hardware distribution to allow its user’s to build computers that meet their specific needs. There is a huge market that would be interested, and it might even knock down the PC market share a bit.

Would you build a Mac if you could?

When I received an offer to review the Edifier E3350 speakers, my first thought was – who the hell is Edifier? I took a look at the spec sheet that I was provided and was initially impressed with the unique look of the speakers, and also found it interesting that they won an award at CES this year, the CES Innovations 2008 Design and Engineering Awards Honor. I decided to take them up on their review offer, and I was certainly intrigued by the results. These speakers offer a Bose-quality sound at a Creative and Logitech-level price. Yes – I did just compare these on the same level as Bose. Soon, you’ll see why.

Speaker Specifications

The Edifier E3350 is a 2.1 speaker system with the following technical specs:

• Power Output: RMS 32W + 9W x 2 (THD=10%)
• Signal to Noise Ratio:>=85dBA
• Distortion:<=0.5% THD
• Input Impedance: 10K Ohm
• Input Sensitivity: Satellites—550+/-50mV; Subwoofer—200+/-50mV
• Frequency Response: R/L: 130Hz – 20kHz SW: 30Hz – 130Hz
• Bass Unit: 5 inch driver, magnetically shielded, 5Ohm
• Satellite Unit: 2.75 inch oval shaped driver,4 Ohm and 3/4 inch PV dome tweeter, magnetically shielded, 4Ohm
• Dimension: Subwoofer — 248 x199 x 294mm (W X H X D)
• Satellite — 96 x 234 x 118mm (W x H x D)
• Gross Weight: approximately 5 kg
• Power Input: 100V-240V wide range AC power adapter,18V

Initial Impressions and Tests

When I opened the box for the first time and was able to see the speakers, my first thought was, “These look pretty sweet.” I hope by the picture below you can see what I am talking about. The design is definitely unique compared to the typical box-like speakers you will find from many companies – it is somewhat hard to describe exactly why these look cool, but they just do. There are no straight edges anywhere on the speakers or the subwoofer, which are all three shaped like pyramids, and they feature a slick-looking plastic top. The subwoofer is neat in that it fires downward instead of outward, allowing them to play with the design a bit.

My first instinct when it comes to testing speakers is to plug them in, turn the volume as high as it will go, and play the THX trailer on them. I have done this on several different speaker systems, including 5.1 speakers, so I am accustomed to how most systems sound. I played the trailer called “Cavalcade.” I can not tell you how blown away (quite literally) I was by the beautiful quality of sound that blasted out of these little speakers. Not only was it extremely loud, but the pitches were produced perfectly, without the slightest hint of distortion or stress that you get from many speakers when cranked up all the way. These speakers are definitely impressive.

Sound Quality

For testing sound quality, I used several different types of music that would test the different sound ranges, from the very lowest to the very highest pitch possible. My first test was the THX trailer Cavalcade, but after that, I ran it through about everything on my playlist – including these specific songs:

Star Wars Episode II Soundtrack – Love Pledge, The Arena
John Williams

Overture to Candide
Leonard Bernstein

If Everyone Cared
Nickleback

Superman Kryptonite
3 Doors Down

I tried to play a little of everything so I could hear the speaker’s response to a variety of tones and chords. Overture to Candide is probably the best all-purpose tester because it has everything from a very brassy low sound to an extremely high piccolo part. The balance of bass (which is adjustable) does not overpower the mid-range or high-range sound of the speakers – even when the subwoofer is turned all the way up.

Conclusion

Ratings (1 = lowest, 10 = highest)

To conclude this review, let me tell you something: if you are looking for speakers and have about $100 to spend, buy these speakers. I’m not getting paid to say that, nor was I asked to even give a positive review – these speakers just kick ass, period.

You can visit their website at http://www.edifier.ca/

Here is a basic overview of the different carriers for SMS and MMS via email.

Sprint:

[10DigitNumber]@messaging.sprintpcs.com

T-Mobile:

[10DigitNumber]@tmomail.net

Verizon:

[10DigitNumber]@vtext.com

AT&T:

[10DigitNumber]@mobile.mycingular.com

Just replace [10DigitNumber] with the ten digit phone number you are trying to reach (area code + local number).\

If you do not know the carrier, or do not want to try to remember the address of the person you are trying to reach or do not want to print the list off to remember, there is another way you can text via email.

A service called Teleflip allows you to send emails to its domain and let it figure out which provider is used. It will also forward any replies back to your email address. This service will allow you to send up to 1,000 messages per month for free. After that, you can subscribe to their premium package to get unlimited messages.

Many people don’t know about these options for texting. If you would like to add any carrier addresses that I have forgotten, please drop me an email and I will add it to the list.

Gigabit routers are available, but they are usually pretty pricey. I have a solution that can work with your current setup for under $50. It can definitely be worth the extra money if you intend to do any file transfers. Time is money, you know. Here’s what I recommend:

• Check out your favorite computer warehouse – I will use Newegg for sample prices – to find a simple gigabit switch that has 4 ports or more.
• Dlink and Linksys both have switches available for under $35 at Newegg which can be used for this purpose
• When you get the switch, you will want to shut off your router and modem
• Unplug all the ethernet cables on your router except the one that goes to your modem
• Plug the switch into the router with an Ethernet cable
• Plug all computers and other networked devices directly into the switch

Using this process allows all the computers on your home network (assuming they are all wired into this switch) to communicate at gigabit speeds, without investing in a gigabit router.
In my house, I have Ethernet wired in the walls to a few different locations. All the drops lead to the furnace room where they are mounted in the wall. I have it set up so that there is a gigabit switch in the furnace room supplying signal to two of the locations, and the other lead goes to my room, where I have it go into another gigabit switch with my equipment plugged in there. Then, from there, that switch goes into the router.

My overall network speed has seen a very noticeable increase since the switch to gigabit. For me, it was well worth my time. I hope it can be worth yours too!

First off – the answer is not control. Making your child hold your hand while they surf the internet will not work – they know there is something out there you do not want them to see, and they want to know what and why. That’s the nature of kids – they rebel, without knowing what they get themselves into. I know many parents who slap restrictions on their children, like “You can’t have Instant Messenger.” And “You can’t be on MySpace.” Sorry guys, this isn’t going to stop your children, and I believe it will actually encourage them.

There are other downsides to control that are more than likely to arise from two conditions in many households:

1. The children understand the technology better than their parents. Not always, but it is often the case with cutting-edge technology.
2. Children have access to technology at other locations that are not under parental control.

Now, let’s take a look at some things that are not so good on the computer and what they could mean.

1. Porn. Obviously, kids grow up and get curious about sex. That’s part of their growing stages. Middle school kids have been the worst from my experience – they tend to grow out of this stage after a while. It’s bad because… well, it’s just not a good idea for kids to be screwing around with. And you better have a good anti-virus.
2. Pictures of themselves. This is a personal pet peeve of mine – kids who post pictures of themselves exposed on the internet – either giving them to friends or even posting them in a public area for others to ‘vote on their hotness’. It is exposing, dangerous, and could get your child in legal trouble. Parents probably don’t want their kids being seen naked by the masses online – and the kids could grow up to regret it.
3. Cyber-bullying. Kids get picked on, no matter what. When they make information about themselves visible online, they are exposing their identity to classmates, friends, and people they don’t even know. It amazes me how quickly kids can get sidetracked and take their criticism way too far. Even last week, a girl – sadly – committed suicide based on a MySpace relationship. This is ultimately the most sad.
4. Stalkers. People who think of the situations they are in and are knowledgeable about computers can usually pick these people out from a mile away. Let’s face it, almost anyone who has used IM has interacted with these folks at some point. It is obvious. But, kids don’t always think about what they are doing, and this can get them into trouble. You can see examples of the lengths these people are willing to go to with kids on any “To Catch a Predator” episode of Dateline. It is disgusting and sickening.

So after these four things, I’m sure you are ready to ban your kid from the internet forever. Don’t. Let me explain what you can do to keep the situation under control without making your child think he / she is being controlled.

1. Educate them. Be interested in how they use technology. See what they do, and educate them on the possible dangers, but don’t hesitate to point out the positive effects it could have.
2. Monitor them. This is called passive detection. You don’t have to completely ban them from the internet, just watch what they do. Have traffic going through your router logged – it isn’t difficult to do, and they will never know you are doing it. If you do notice them starting to stray into questionable things – put their feet to the fire – but do not restrict them from the technology.

Passive monitoring can be achieved many ways, through all sorts of monitoring programs around the internet costing between $25 and $50. It is often the best way to handle the situation and still allow your child to live in this century. Be smart, trust your kid, and educate them. It will be very helpful in the future.

 ”Wal-Mart Corporation:

My name is Tyler Thompson, a resident of Derby Kansas and a frequent customer of your stores.  As a profession, I am a web developer in Wichita and also the Editor-in-Chief of a popular technology website PCMech.com.  I am writing in utter disbelief of the events relating to your store, its customer service, and your new Site to Store service.  Over the past week, my family’s patience has been pushed beyond the limit by the sheer lack of competence shown by the Wal-Mart employees at your Derby location.

Please let me begin by describing the situation over the last week.  My mother and I had been looking for a game, Guitar Hero III for PlayStation 2 with a Guitar, for several days when I came across an available version at your online store.  Immediately, I sent the link to my mother who proceeded to place an order on Tuesday December 4, 2007 with shipping options set for your new Site to Store service.  The problems began here, as the credit card used for the transaction was declined three times by your online processing service and then was locked out by the same service for exceeding your overflow limit.  My mother tried again with a different credit card, which worked perfectly the first time.  It was not until later she realized that although your online processor had declined her first credit card, it had charged this card all three times for the amount of the order.  After calling customer service, this issue was resolved quickly.  Unfortunately, the problems did not end there, and they were relatively minor in comparison to what was to come.

On Saturday December 8, 2007, my mother received an email notification (the first sent by your service since the order) with the subject “Pickup Confirmation” – we believed this to be the notification promised as per your invoice’s instructions on how your Site to Store service worked, step one: “Wait for an email telling you your order is ready for pickup (7-10 days)” – however, the email did not mention anything about the order being ready for pickup.  In fact, it was worded as if the order had already been picked up.  Confused by the situation, I called the store to clarify whether this was the email notifying us the order was ready for pickup.

When I called, I immediately asked for a customer service representative, who I was readily transferred to.  I inquired about the email we received and was then put on hold for “someone who knew something about how it worked.”  After a few minutes, another person picks up the phone, and after again describing the situation to her, I was again told “I don’t know how that works, let me find someone who can help you.”  Finally, on the third try, I was handed off to someone from the back of the store who “knew what they were doing”.

This person was very responsive and positive to deal with, as she promptly looked up our order, first by last name.  She sounded frustrated when no results came back for an available pickup.  She then asked for a street address to check for.  Again, within seconds, she came back with a negative response about a pickup being ready.  The representative then asked for an order number to search.  I found the order number and read it to her over the phone, to a quick response of “Oh no.  It shows the order has already been picked up.  Are you sure you have not had anyone pick it up for you?”  My response was that no one had picked up the order and the situation was not good.  The representative looked up the order status further to find that there was a signature on file for the package.  As soon as this was discovered, I was transferred to a manager, where I let my mother take over the phone conversation because she had been the one to place the order.

After a few minutes on the phone, my mother was asked to come into the store to discuss the matter further.

She left at around 10 PM and went to management in your Derby location.  Obviously the signature was not a valid one for the package, and the situation began to escalate.  After an employee from the stocking area confronted my mother and told her, several times, that “She was not perfect,” my mother asked for her to get out of her face, to deal strictly with management, and to be issued a refund.  Three different managers refused to process the refund request, and at one point an employee told my mother “It would be extremely easy for anyone to just print off an order confirmation page and bring it in to the store for items such as that.”  This has two meanings, first of which alleging that my mother was defrauding the company, or that Wal-Mart’s security is not tight enough regarding its online order process.  After being refused the refund by the management, she requested to speak with corporate headquarters, which was originally denied, but upon further attempts was allowed in the store.

The lady who my mother dealt with at corporate was very accommodating and immediately told the manager in the store to process the refund and to apologize for the employee’s rudeness.  The refund was eventually processed and corporate issued a new order to be shipped to our house for free.

First of all, the most important implication of this event is security.  On the order confirmation page, step three, it says “Go to the Site to Store area at your store and present your printed email and a valid photo ID.”  And under that, in at least two different areas, it lists the “Pickup Person” as “Kim Thompson”.  If a photo ID is required, how did the box get signed for without an ID verifying the identity of the pickup person as “Kim Thompson”?  The answer to this question is probably pretty simple – an employee had to have falsified the signature (a state felony as defined by KS 21-3710) and then stolen the package my mother had paid for (a state misdemeanor or felony as defined by KS 21-3701).  Since the package could have crossed state lines, this action could also violate various Federal Interstate Commerce regulations.

Also, the implication that anyone could forge an email by your online store and come in to pick up the package is troubling.  Being a web developer, I deal with internet security and e-commerce on a daily basis.  As such, your website should have adequate protections built in to prevent such happenings.  Also, in order to forge the order confirmation, one must know the order number, time of order, pickup person name, and credit card information.  As this information was passed from your servers via Secured Sockets Layer communication, it would be impossible for an outside source to intercept the encrypted content and decrypt it for personal use.  Internet security is not a joke, especially for someone who works in the industry.

Secondly, the way your store handled the situation was dysfunctional at best.  From the very beginning, no one at the store seemed to know or understand how the Site to Store worked, and the way the management and employees communicated with my mother was offensive.  Customer service should be a priority, especially in situations where it is possible that an employee stole merchandise belonging to a customer.  My mother being told she was “not perfect” is extremely unprofessional and borderline on childish behavior.  This kind of behavior is sickening from a company of your size.

Thirdly, if this can happen in Derby Kansas without anyone catching on, in how many of your other stores is this lack of oversight causing problems?  How many other customers are going to be affected by similar incidents?  This needs to be taken care of immediately.

As I mentioned earlier, I am the Editor-in-Chief of a website called PCMech.com.  I am publishing this letter as an Open Letter on the website to warn our audience of the dysfunctional status of Site to Store, and also to hopefully make your company accountable for the actions of your employees.  This letter will be featured in a newsletter which is received in the inbox of over 25,000 people, and visible on the internet to our audience of over 15,000 per day.  As an open letter, your company is free to respond openly on the website as a comment.

In order to make sure this letter is acted on, I will be mailing this to your corporate headquarters and to the Manager of the Derby Wal-Mart.  To rectify this situation, we would like to receive a written apology from both the corporate office and the Derby Wal-Mart, as well as have action taken as necessary against the employees involved in this situation.  I am saddened that it has to be taken this far, but in light of the treatment we received; I feel the situation can not be ignored.

Thank you for your time.

Tyler Thompson”

Here at PCM, we thought we would help you out with a guide to what to get your Geek for Christmas. These items are fairly general, but cover several big things, and also random little things that will make a techie’s Christmas bright.

1) Gaming system
Tyler’s pick: Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii

Ok, the PS3 lovers are going to be mad I didn’t put it on the list, but I do not believe it is worth the investment right now. A good investment if you have younger kids or someone who is a casual gamer is the Nintendo Wii gaming system. It is a really neat little system that uses wireless technology to detect how you move, allowing you to physically swing a tennis racket or punch a fighter. You’ll just have to warn them not to throw the remote through your new TV – I know I have a pretty bad temper when I miss a ball. The Wii will provide hours of fun for an entire family. The Xbox 360 is my choice for more experienced and competitive gamers, as a game of Halo 3 would make anyone in this category drool. They will love it!

2) HDTV
Tyler’s pick: Sharp 37” LCD TV with 1080p

What could be better than playing Halo 3 on an Xbox 360? Playing Halo 3 on your new 37” HDTV. 1080p offers a fantastic resolution for your various HD devices – and enhances football and Halo 3 that much more. I picked the Sharp brand because I have been impressed by the quality of picture on these sets, and the price was right. If you want to spend a little more, there are several 1080p Samsungs that are well worth the look. This particular TV has two HDMI inputs to allow you to run a couple devices at full HD resolution.

3) Surround Sound
Tyler’s Pick – JVC THD60

Found at Wal-Mart and other places to shop, this system really packs a punch for the price. I had a chance to toy around with one of these and absolutely loved it. It comes with both an HDMI in and out, something that I haven’t found true on most home theatre systems available. It has a built in DVD player with up-conversion to 1080p, but when HD systems get cheap enough, it becomes worthless without an HDMI input. This will likely be on my personal wish list for this Christmas – the sound is that impressive.

4) Games
Tyler’s picks: Call of Duty 4, Halo 3

Games are abundant nowadays, and if your favorite techie has a gaming system, find which one it is. You can’t go wrong with a good game for them to play. Be sure its not something they already have though! If you want to know what a good game is, check out gamestop.com to see what is popular. More than likely, you’ll find a great choice. Call of Duty 4 just came out and I know it is extremely popular, as is the new sequel to the Halo series, Halo 3. You can’t go wrong with either of those.

Now that we have covered some of the major items, what about stocking stuffers and smaller gifts?

My favorite store for geeks is ThinkGeek. Just a simple look around their site shows of some of the clever, geeky ideas that have been put into production. A few of my favorites:

Flying Alarm Clock

Portable Vending Refrigerator

Posters

USB Memory Watch

Anyway, you get the point. They have cool stuff, period. If you don’t understand what it is, its likely cool to a geek – just remember that!

I hope this has been some help to you in your pursuit to make your Geek happy. Follow my advice and they will be!

My family had just gotten 4 new phones last week. The salespeople at the ATT store persuaded us to put insurance on these phones for $4.95 per month to cover loss, theft, or other forms of damage in exchange for an instant rebate instead of a mail-in. Within a week, my mother and sister walked into the same ATT store to make an insurance claim on my sister’s phone because she accidentally washed her phone in the washing machine – needless to say, we were happy we put insurance on the phone.

Now I suppose because my sister washed the phone in the washer, the salesperson saw an opportunity. Asking what internet service we had, he was pleased to find that we had Cox Communications for both TV and internet. Immediately, he jumped on the opportunity to take advantage of my family members – I guess he thought they were stupid because of the incident with the phone.

Lies Number One, Two and Three:

“Our internet and TV services are better than cable. Cable is only 3 times faster than dial-up, and DSL is over 5 times faster than dial-up.”

One -

Last time I checked, the fastest dial-up connection is 56 kb/s. Here is my current speed for cable internet services:

Granted, we are on the Premium package – but I will be sure to cover the standard package in a few minutes. Let’s do the math.

8149 kb/s divided by 56 kb/s equals roughly 145.5. That means my internet connection is 145.5 times faster than dial-up. Uh-oh!

Standard cable packages are 3000 kb/s here. So let’s figure that out as well:

3000 divided by 56 equals 53.5. It looks like standard cable internet is 53.5 times faster than dial-up!

Two –

Even DSL is more than 5 times faster than dial-up. Here is my friend’s ‘Pro’ DSL package:

2477 divided by 56 equals 44.2. Pro DSL is roughly 44.2 times faster than dial-up.

Standard DSL is a 1500 kb/s connection.

1500 divided by 56 equals 26.7 times faster than dial-up.

Three-

Cable internet packages are not slower than DSL, as this salesperson implied. Standard cable internet is 3000 kb/s download, whereas DSL is standard at 1500 kb/s. By my math, cable should be twice as fast at peak.

Lie Number Four

“DSL is more secure than Cable because Cable goes over a shared connection.”

This could not be any further from the truth. Cable internet uses shared bandwidth. This means that all users connecting through a certain neighborhood cable box share a set amount of bandwidth capacity at the box. If one user is using the internet, their connection will be lightning fast (up to their specific bandwidth cap), but if many users are connected to this box, each user may have a limited amount of bandwidth to use. DSL connects in the same manor, through a neighborhood VSLAM. The only difference here is that DSL uses static bandwidth per line, meaning each DSL connection is steady at their advertised speeds. The function is still the same – the connection goes from the modem, into the line (be it a cable line or phone line), into your neighborhood box, and out through a fiber optic cable to your ISP. Just because a cable connection uses a shared bandwidth model, this does not mean your data is shared across to the other users. In fact, it isn’t. Ever.

Lie Number Five

“I know what I am talking about because my brother is going to graduate with a degree in Computer Science.”

This is the most outrageous, yet most laughable, claim that this salesman could have possibly made. My dad is a pilot and a flight instructor and I am neither. Would you want me to fly you across the country? Probably not. At any rate, he uses this as a sales pitch to try convincing my family that he knows his stuff. Luckily, my family ignored his advice and told me about the situation. I was furious.

The moral to this story is that whenever anyone tries to sell you something, you should do your research. In the case of our readers, you can join our forums and ask for others’ experiences with a product or service. In other cases, Google can usually provide quick answers.

It frustrates me that in order to make a quick buck, companies like ATT try to take advantage of people who do not understand technology. Most people do not understand the complexities of technology, and when they hear “Cable internet isn’t as secure as DSL” they worry and usually switch. I have lost a bunch of respect for ATT over the past few weeks.

I can not remember the number of times I have been in a conversation with people about their technology not working quite right and their experiences with Geek Squad or some other company that seems to be out to get them (or, more particularly, their money). Even in places like Wal-Mart, Barnes and Noble, and Target, I talk with people about technology. Many times they need help – and chances are, they’re willing to hire someone to do it right. You know you can help them, but how should you tell them you can? How should you give them your contact information?

The solution is an age-old concept: give them a business card.

I keep roughly ten business cards in my wallet on me at all times. When people ask for my advice or assistance – anytime, anywhere – I hand them my card. Nine times out of ten, I will get a call from them very soon after requesting my services.

What if you don’t have a business?

You don’t need one! A business card is a professional way of saying “Hey, I know what I’m doing.” You do not need to own a business to do computer work in your spare time. In most states, services are not taxed, so you should be in the clear legally.

What information should go on a business card?

Typically, my cards look something like this:

Tyler Thompson
Digital Services Technician
(316) 666-6666 (home)
tyler@derbydigital.com

In general, you should have your name, phone number, and email address (the three most important things) on your card. If you have other information, that is great too. Don’t clutter the card – highlight the key information and keep distractions to a minimum.

How do you make Business Cards?

You can purchase perforated business card sheets at your local store, at a rate of roughly 250 per $5-10. They typically come with templates that you can use to design your card in Word or OpenOffice without any problem. Then, simply print, fold, tear, and put them in your wallet!

How much should I Charge for Computer Work?

I usually charge $25 per hour for home users. I have found that to be reasonably acceptable by clients and enough to justify my time spent on their machines. I have heard everything from $10 to $150 per hour based on training, certifications, etc. I like $25 per hour based on my region and my customers. Your region and customers may vary greatly, so that is something you will have to decide on your own.

Conclusion

Once you start passing your business cards out, it will become second nature. You will likely see the benefits of having them with you at all times, and you might even make some cash on the side!