Hello World!
I have been slightly lazy about blogging. I am going to get back to consistently blogging. There is so much going on in the computer world! I thought I would start out with an “I am back” blog to give me more accountability. Now the world knows!
Every one at Ask Ms. Tech wishes you and yours a very Merry CHRISTmas!!
I just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving!
Also, who is going to begin their Black Friday adventure today? You know what I always say, start with electronics!!
Have you heard about the Google+ project? This is a project that is about social networking. Yes, we have Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and others, but Google is taking a slightly different approach. They have things such as circles, hang-outs, sparks, and huddle.
Huddle is a meeting space and it is used in LinkedIn. Sparks is almost like a spark of inspiration. If there is something that you really like, you type it in Spark and it sends information and articles about your favorite subject. If you happen to be somewhere, you can tell your friends and see who shows up. And then there is my favorite part – circles.
Circles is where Google+ really gets interesting. With Circles, you can have in essence different groups. For example, a work group, family group, friends group, etc. and never shall they meet! You can have privacy settings on each circle and move people around to each one or keep them out. This is interesting.
I can create groups in Facebook, but they have to be my friend and even though they are in a closed private group, I can see what they posts. Also, some of my friends in Facebook are not really my Friends. You know they are associates or people I met a long time ago. They may be good to keep up with but do they really care when my son hits a homerun? Do I want them to my birthday party pictures? Do I want to see theirs? Google has tried before with social networking with Buzz and Wave. Let’s see if they can do it as they try to put a dent in Facebook’s 750+ million users.
Good luck Google!
(BTW, Google+ is in Beta testing. I will let you know when it is live)
In case you have not heard, Netflix is going to split their streaming and DVD service. They are going to raise the price of having the services together, starting at $16.99.
Have you also noticed there have been less selections for the streaming service? Movies such as Salt and The Social Network have been taken down due to a contractual fight with Sony.
Will you stay with Netflix? Give Blockbuster a try (where you can get releases 28 days earlier anyway)? Or just stick with Redbox?
Just as an aside. I have been trying HBO Go and it is very cool! I will blog about that later 
I have a Blackberry and periodically I will end up somewhere in the middle of my my email or some other application (like Facebook). To get to the top, press the “T” key. T for top and B for bottom.
That’s your tech tip for today!
This week twitter turned 5 years old! Happy Birthday Twitter! Find us at twitter.com/oystech!
Twitter has changed the way we communicate. You have to say it all in 140 characters or less.
Prayers go out to Japan, many of whom are Tweeting from inside the danger zone.
Okay,
I seem to have a million power cords. Out of the million power cords, I only know what about 10 of them charge. Then I found another box full of power cords. Some were VERY old (like the one for my SEGA Genesis).
So, I am going to label what I can and recycle the rest. I just thought I would like you all know too, just in case you have a million power cords too! Happy Labeling
Okay, I have had many people ask me about freeipad.com. So here it is .
You can get a free iPad, but here is the deal. The website uses a series of special and trial offers. Thirteen to be exact. This is not unusual for any of the free promotions out there).
So, the first step is to give them your email address. There are a variety of sponsors you have to either get a trial membership with, begin using the service, or be approved for a credit card.
Also, when you apply with the sponsor, they also get to use your email for their own purposes. So, now you have at least 14 companies (and their partners, subsidiaries, etc.) that have your email address.
When you sign up with the sponsors, the give whoever is behind the website, in this case Freebie-fusion.net. Here is a representative sample of their offers (pulled from the freeipad.com):
“Netflix – Two weeks trial period, after which subscription costs $9.99 per month unless or until cancelled. Blockbuster – Your first month subscription will be for $9.99, after which you will be charged $17.99 per monthly subscription unless or until cancelled. Gevalia Coffee – With the free trial, you will receive four 1/2 lb boxes of Gevalia Kaffe and a 12 Cup Programmable Stainless Steel Coffeemaker & Set of two Stainless Steel Travel Mugs. Thereafter the next shipment will arrive approximately one month later with the selections you chose for your initial shipment, charged to the same credit card as the S&H for your initial shipment. After that, shipments will follow approximately every 6 weeks. Prices of coffees and teas vary, ranging from $5.55-$7.45 per package. Prices of coffee and tea pods are $7.95 for Regular and $8.45 for Decaffeinated. You will be charged S&H. Discover – Requires applying and being approved for and using the Discover credit card. No annual fee. Cosmetique – Membership costs $19.95 per month plus S&H unless or until cancelled. NY Times – Monday through Friday subscription costs $4 for the first four weeks; $5.60/week for the following eight weeks; $6.20/week thereafter. Sunday subscription costs $4 for the first four weeks; $5.67/week for the following eight weeks; $6.30/week thereafter. 4Seasonswineclub – The introductory price is $119.95 plus $16.95 S&H for 12 bottles of wine, after which, on a quarterly basis, you will be charged on the same account $9.95 (plus S&H) for each of 12 bottles each quarter, unless or until cancelled. Roadloans – Requires obtaining a car loan. ADT Home Security – Requires installing and activating a new home security system.
So, those are some the examples, but there are many more. If these and others are interesting for you then go for it!
Otherwise,I suggest you go buy one .
Hello!
Christmas is the time for giving! (Yes, I know it is February). I was working on a client’s PC and I realized something.
Have you notice that many PCs and laptop do not come with recovery disks? Okay, have you ever noticed that PCs and laptops normally ship with those CDs. Their purpose is to be able to restore your computer to an out-of-the-box state. That simply means, when you first took the computer out of the box and turned it on before you added any of your stuff. Very good!
This is useful if, for example, you get a virus. The disks have everything you need to make your computer brand new.
So, where are the disks? Mostly likely, they are located on your computer’s hard drive (the place where stuff is stored). You have to create your own recovery disks and I suggest you do.
If you look in the control panel, you will normally find a menu item for “recovery” or “system recovery”. It will be to that effect. Once you find it, there is normally an option to create either CDs or DVDs. You should do that and put it in a safe place. If you are unsure where it is or how to create the disks – visit the manufactures website (like Dell, Sony, Compaq, HP, etc.) and they will help you.
You can also just order the CDs. Normally, they cost between $25.00 and $50.00. They are very good to have!
Okay, now add that to your things to do list — create restore CDs/DVDs. And if you have any questions you can always Ask Ms. Tech!