In this video, I am going to talk about blogging. If you want to build up an online presence, you need a blog - even if you don’t know it yet. I’ll walk you through the reasons why and give you some tips to get started.

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Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

You may have entertained the idea of buying a used laptop. Personally I recommend against doing this as new ones are easily under $500 these days. However, if you’re insistent on going used, here are a few tips.

Go Dell

I champion Dell products routinely and in the used laptop territory I do the same. The reason is because it’s stupidly easy to find a laptop’s specs just by service tag alone.

Example: Someone on craigslist or eBay is selling a Dell laptop. You want to know every single thing you can about the unit before making a bid or calling, etc. If you contact the seller and get the alphanumeric service tag (which is on the bottom of every Dell laptop), you can quickly find the specs of the unit (beyond the seller’s description) by doing this:

1. Go to support.dell.com and click on “Drivers & Downloads”

Looks like this:

2. Choose the service tag option.

Looks like this:

3. Enter in the tag and click Go.

Looks like this:

4. On the next page click the “Product Support” link at the top.

Looks like this (the link is to the right of the small flag where it says “You are here”):

5. On the next page click “System Information Configuration” (located at right)

Looks like this:

6. On the next page you have three tabs, that being “Service Contracts & Warranties”, “Original System Configuration” and “Current System Configuration”.

The ones that matters are for the warranty and original sys config.

When on “Original System Configuration”, every single frickin’ thing that was put into that laptop from the factory is listed. Even the screws have a part number.

Why is this information important? It’s so that if anything breaks, you know the exact part to ask for.

Under the “Service Contracts & Warranties” section, this will list verbatim whether the laptop is still in warranty or not.

Some sellers do lie and state a laptop is in warranty when it isn’t. However, from the Dell support site you can see for yourself easily if the unit is in warranty - AND - how many days are left - AND - what type of warranty it is (mail-in, next-day, etc.?)

All this info is very useful.

What if the seller states he “doesn’t know” what the service tag is?

The seller is an idiot and/or or the unit is stolen. Don’t buy it.

What if the service tag I get shows a laptop completely different from the one listed?

Return contact and state the service tag belongs to a completely different type of Dell. Seller is most likely trying to sell a stolen unit - or - purposely fudged the tag to claim the unit is still in warranty when it isn’t.

Buy a laptop with warranty still in effect

It is always recommended to only buy a used laptop that has an existing warranty. This way if anything breaks on it, it’s covered.

The #1 most expensive part on a laptop is the LCD screen. Always has been and always will be. If you buy a used unit and its screen is dim, flickers, has odd colors, etc. - SEND IT OUT for repair.

The minimum remaining warranty you want on any laptop is 30 days. That’s all you need to find out whether or not anything is busted.

Remember, all original equipment is covered. This includes the optical drive, keyboard, trackpad - all of it.

If you buy a Dell, I can say from personal experience that customer service never gives any grief when there’s a hardware fault with an Inspiron or Latitude.

Furthermore Dell always eats the shipping cost. They are one of the few computer manufacturers that do.

Example: You discover the optical drive is busted. You call Dell for another one under warranty. They will ship you a new optical drive with a waybill slip inside. You take out the new drive once it arrives, put the old drive in the box, seal/tape it, call DHL or other carrier listed on the waybill for a pickup, they come and get it - on Dell’s dime (that’s what the waybill is for). The waybill sticks right to the box over the old one. It doesn’t get any easier.

Buy a laptop that has its original “recovery CD”

What some sellers do is wipe the drive and put Linux on it because they lost the original Windows disc, i.e. “recovery CD”. This sucks because in reality Windows may run best on that laptop over Linux (due to proprietary hardware with proprietary drivers).

The first thing you should do with any used laptop is immediately do a “slow” format of the hard drive (this will mark any bad sectors) then pop in the recovery disc and install the provided Windows OS. If you like it, stick with it. If not, wipe it out and put on Linux.

Assume a laptop is always slower

A laptop’s hardware is designed to emit the least heat possible so it doesn’t damage any components in its tight space. The drawback is that you end up with a slower computer.

If for example you pitted a 2.0GHz single-core desktop vs. a 2GHz single-core laptop, both with the same RAM, the laptop will be slower. The laptop’s video card won’t be as good as the desktop, the 2.5-inch drive will be slower than the desktop’s larger 3.5-inch, and overall operation of the laptop will be noticeably slower.

Laptops are not about speed but rather portability.

New laptops (as in new-right-now) do have better processors now that darn near have the performance of big boxes - but not the used ones.

Got any more tips? Did I miss anything?

Let us know in the comments - particularly if you have an Apple Macbook, Gateway or HP laptop. They have different ways of finding information for used units. Are they as good as Dell’s or worse?

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

You’ve used several locked-down forced environment (i.e. "kiosk") systems and probably didn’t even realize it.

A few examples:

• Automated Teller Machines (a.k.a. the "ATM")
• Video game consoles
• Cell phones
• The menu system for DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon, etc.

All that stuff is kiosk-style.

The good

With a proprietary OS environment, operation and apps are all supposed to work optimally.

Any kiosk-style system is designed with speed first, "fluff" second (this is good).

It’s a Linux distro so you can get into the "guts" of the OS easily.

The bad

There is a such a thing as "too much cloud". If it ever gets to the point where the OS simply will not function without internet, that’s not good.

The reality

gOS states on their web site:

Cloud allows users to switch to the main operating system with a single click, or just power off.

If you’re already using Windows or Linux, what’s the point of even using it then other than boot-up speed?

I think it’s a safe bet to say most people (including beginners) would prefer a "full" OS like Windows or Linux instead of a forced environment.

Incidentally, this is why many people jailbreak iPhones. When you force users into a controlled environment, that’s not the true spirit of computing - and people will find ways to break the chains every time.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

• Startup Control Panel - Identifies where startup programs originate and allows you optionally configure  (or delete the entry altogether) whether or not they startup when your computer does.
• StartupMonitor - A small program which runs in the background and notifies you whenever a new startup process is registered. This is a great utility for catching malware and other nasties from burying themselves in your system.

While there are tons of other programs out there which do similar functions, these are just a couple you might want to take a look at.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

They pretty much took on every stereotype you’ve ever seen as regards Apple fans. They made fun of the prices. They made fun of Steve Jobs. The store designs. Everything.

Here’s the video:

Oh, and that’s not all. The documentary “Welcome to Macintosh” is available for pre-order.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Ergonomics as it pertains to you is to use your computer in a way that minimizes any damage to your body, hearing or vision in any way.

Instead of getting into all the technical crapola about it, I’ll instead just do simply question/answer style.

Hard chair or soft chair?

Hard chair with straight back. Promotes better posture. If you lean (forward or backward) when you sit at your computer, this is bad. Sit up straight like your mother taught you to.

Cushion on the seat portion is fine, but the back should be firm and straight.

Arm rests or not?

Not. Arm rests are mighty comfy but you’ll find yourself leaning on them often. When you lean to the left or right you’re not sitting straight obviously.

Keyboard wrist rest or not?

On a desktop, yes. On a laptop, no.

The keyboard on a desktop is free-standing and has a drop-off below the spacebar. Without the rest you have lean in your wrists. This is bad. The wrists and hands should be level with each other.

Laptops have a built-in rest because below the keyboard is the trackpad and the space on either side that acts as a rest.

Mouse wrist rest or not?

Yes. Keeps the wrist level with the hand with minimal lean.

“Ergonomically designed” mouse or not?

What’s most important is the mouse rest more than the mouse itself. However I would recommend using full-sized mice and not “mini” mice (such as the external travel kind used on laptops). When you use a mini-mouse you’re pinching instead of resting the palm. That pinching results in a repetitive movement that may cause pain.

If you’re stuck for what to choose, the Microsoft Intellimouse is still the standard. I know some people will vehemently disagree with me on that choice, but the plain fact of the matter is that Microsoft makes awesome mice. Logitech comes in at a close second.

“Ergonomically designed” keyboard or not?

Depends if you can get past the “weirdness” of those funky-shaped keyboards.

I will say this: If you do use one, it is better for you. Additionally, once again Microsoft makes the best ergonomic keyboard. DO NOT buy a discount ergo-board. Even their cheap one is still a good ‘board.

Personally speaking I prefer “short profile” keys (i.e. a laptop keyboard with a very light touch). Much less strain on the fingers but only for the touch-typist variety such as myself. If you’re not a touch-typist, go for the big keys on the Microsoft ‘board.

Where should my eye level be?

Look at your computer screen. Consider the bottom to be 0% and the top to be 100%. Your eye line should be at the 80% to 90% mark and you should be looking straight when you do so.

Take your finger and draw an imaginary line from your eye to the screen. If you’re not at that mark, raise or lower your chair or monitor to suit.

If your neck leans forward or back at all, you’re causing neck strain. Even if you can’t feel it, eventually you will.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR THOSE WITH BI-FOCAL EYEGLASSES:

If you wear bi-focal eyeglasses and tilt your head back to read stuff on your computer screen, STOP doing that. You are causing serious neck strain every time you do it. Get another set of eyeglasses that are the bottom prescription only. People label these usually as “computer glasses”.

If you’re saying to yourself “I can’t afford that”, ask yourself: What’s more important, your wallet or your neck? The answer is obvious.

Is it okay to rest my elbows on the desk when typing?

Never. Your wrists are the only things that should rest (on the keyboard rest of course).

What height should my keyboard be?

A height suitable to where you wrists and hands are at even plane when typing.

What height should my mouse be?

Same as your keyboard.

Where should my mouse be in relation to my keyboard?

Directly to the left or right. Not forward from the keyboard nor down.

Did I miss anything? Did I make an error?

Feel free to chime in with a comment or two.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

When a corporation decides to get rid of computers as per the end-of-life cycle (anywhere between 3 to 5 years usually when the warranties finally run out), what’s supposed to happen to those tagged computers boxes is one of the following:

They are either sent "whole" or with wiped drives or gutted/stripped to…

1. The computer recycling center.
2. Destruction (literally).

But even in the largest companies this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes a computer box or two will "fall thru the cracks" so to speak. You may know a friend that works in a large company that can get his hands on a computer for you.

Most people would say "Cool! Free computer! Yes, I’ll take it!"

Trust me, you don’t want it for several good reasons:

First, the license of Windows you get on it will be 100% illegal to use and operate because you don’t own the license.

Second, the box is almost guaranteed to be slow and obsolete.

Third, it’s most likely true that any upgrades you add to it (hard drive, more RAM, etc.) won’t do a darn thing to improve the performance at all.

Fourth, it’s most likely true that box has been banged around quite a bit. It’s probably been moved from cubicle to cubicle, office to office, building to building.

Fifth, it’s probably riddled with dust on the inside. In many office environments the box is kept on the floor - right next to a space heater that throws a bunch of dirt, debris and crap right into the power supply and inside the case.

Sixth - and the most important reason - the box you get was most likely on the chopping block to get sent to recycling or destruction. That means the company who had it already deemed it useless to them.

Is this the kind of computer you want?

Absolutely not. You’re just asking for problems if you take one.

Granted, there are some instances where getting a box like this turns out to be a good deal (it was free after all) and may provide a few years of use. But the end result is that you still get an old crappy PC box - and it will always be an old crappy PC box.

Stay away from these.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

• You have a domain, www.example.com.
• You have a hosted e-mail address, you@example.com.
• You want to keep your domain host where it is, but host your e-mail elsewhere (such as Google Apps or Windows Live Admin Center).

The biggest problem when doing this is that you don’t want to lose any mail after the migration has taken place. During the transition some mail will be delivered to your old mail host and some to the new.

There is a way to do this so you don’t lose any mail. Read on to find out how.

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Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

When you buy and download, you get even more immediate gratification as you don’t have to go to the store, you just start a download. Not only does this save you time and gas, but often times the price is lower. This makes sense for software vendors because there is virtually no cost for distributing software via download when compared to producing packaging and shipping boxed software. If you need the manuals, these are usually either included with the download or are readily available on the vendor’s site. Additionally, you can burn the download to a CD or DVD to have a backup.

So the next time you purchase software see if immediate download is an option. Not only might it save you some money, but it is environmentally friendly as well.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

I recently had to rebuild 15 training machines and instead of manually setting up each one, I simply built one install how I needed it and then imaged it to the other machines. My entire process was:

1. From scratch, set up one machine exactly how I needed it. Install all programs, apply all the settings, create user accounts, etc.
2. Use the Sysprep tool.
3. Create an image of the ‘template’ machine’s hard drive (after Sysprep was run).
4. Copy the image to the other machines.
5. Start up each of the machines after the image was copied and walk through the Windows setup wizard.
6. Done.

Using this method I was able to complete 15 machines in just about 1 day. Doing everything manually would have taken significantly longer.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.