Castellini on Computers FREE Weekly Email NEWSLETTER
August 15, 2007

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EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT AT 9:30PM MST
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In this week's issue. . .

*** TIP OF THE WEEK

*** GEEK SPEEK OF THE WEEK - (Simple definition of common computer terms)

*** COMPUTER NEWS...and comment

*** LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS

*** ADAM'S COMMENTS - Stuff from the digital world that is rolling around in Adam's head.

*** Email of the week

Rick and I will not be airing a live program this Thursday night but we will be back next week for a great Back to School episode of Castellini on Computers.

Even though we aren't doing a live show on the site, our site has been updated over 10 times with new articles since our last show - check it out.

We started a new feature this week. We have begun posting pictures of our client's pets on the site. We enjoy taking pictures of these little creatures and hope you enjoy seeing the pictures. The posts are called "Tech Pets".

Email  your questions to us and we will answer them live on the air or on our daily website updates!

CUSTOM COMPUTER HELP FROM RICK & ADAM

We have been posting a new how-to video every week since November and the feedback has been tremendous. Now YOU have the opportunity to get your own customized video tutorial about a topic that you are having trouble with or just want to learn.

To learn more, visit: www.HelpMeRick.com/videohelp

TIP OF THE WEEK
Better Internet Audio & Video for Slow Internet Connections - Video Tip

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO

More and more, the Internet is all about streaming video and audio. Streaming means that the web site slowly feeds the audio or video content to your computer. With slow Internet connections (dial-up and basic DSL), the video might be choppy and audio may stutter. Unfortunately, there is no sure fire way to combat this with slower connections, but you can take steps to improve the performance of Internet audio and video.

All Internet media players (Windows Media Player, QuickTime, Real Player, Winamp, etc) try to detect your Internet speed and then stream (feed) you the content at an appropriate rate. Unfortunately, the players tend to be a little too aggressive in feeding the video/audio and the result is poor performance and less than an enjoyable multimedia experience.

One technique that seems to work pretty well is to change the player's settings from automatically detecting your connection speed to setting it manually. My recommendation is to set the streaming speed of a player to at least one level BELOW what your actual speed is. For any dial-up connection, do not set the streaming speed to higher than 28.8kbps. For basic DSL (typically 256kbps), set the speed at 128kbps. Doing this "tricks" the player into feeding the content in more digestible bits resulting in a little smoother audio or video experience.

Watch my tip below on exactly how this is accomplished and for an extra tweak or two to help maximize your multimedia enjoyment with any speed Internet connection.

GEEK SPEEK

To be honest, we just don't get this one, but we are trying it anyway. Twitter.com is the latest social networking website designed to bring people together - kind of.

It works like this:

1. Sign up for a free account at Twitter.com
2. Give them your email address, cell phone number, and instant message information.

What happens next is what is so crazy. From this point on you will receive messages at random times asking one question: "What are you doing?"

Type the answer into your computer, cell phone or email and it will get posted on your profile page.

Why would you do this? The primary reason is to promote yourself either for business reasons or otherwise.

Adam set up a Twitter account just to see what it's all about.

Twitter

COMPUTER NEWS...and comment

WINDOWS UPDATE NEWS
There were some big fixes for Windows XP users this week. Make sure you get caught up on all of your Windows Updates. While the description of what the fixes do is pretty boring, they are considered critical and should be done.

Even if your computer is set to do automatic updates, it is a good idea once in a while to connect manually and make sure everything is caught up.

ITUNES NEWS
Legally, Beatles music is not offered by any music download service. There have been talks with Apple, but nothing has come of it so far.

While you can't download Beatles music, you can download music by the individual Beatles. John Lennon became the third Beatle this week to offer music from his solo career on the service. Paul McCartney and Richard Starkey also have music available on iTunes.

HEALTH NEWS
A study conducted by 2007 Consumer Medical and Health Information Poll revealed that 70 percent of Americans use the Internet as a primary source for medical data.

Why not? A study last year noted that the same percentage of doctors do the same.

NANO TECHNOLOGY AND BATTERIES
This week, U.S. researchers announced that they discovered a way to make a battery on paper. Capable of outputting 2.5V of power in a device smaller than a penny and as thin as paper, the researchers think that the battery can be stacked on top of each other to make more powerful batteries and power future tech devices more cheaply and with a lighter weight solution that today's batteries.

Read the whole story by clicking here.

HOTMAIL NEWS
We still prefer Gmail and Yahoo mail to HotMail as a web based email service, but Microsoft's HotMail is the 500 pound gorilla in this market. This week, Microsoft announced that they are upping their email storage limit to a gargantuan 5 GB. This leapfrogs Gmail's current 2.9 GB limit and Yahoo's 2 GB limit. 

POLL Results

Do you know what RSS is?

Next week's poll:
Did you buy a new computer this Back to School season?

Yes      39%

No        61%

ADAM'S COMMENTS

Being a roving computer guy is like no other profession. This week I have decided to list the top 10 things that make my job strange and wonderful.

10. Everyone wants to be your friend. Sometimes you are even treated like a celebrity and people are afraid to come up to you and ask you a question.

9. You get to hear dozens of apologies each week for cluttered offices. No one believes you when you tell them that clutter is the norm.

8. You meet dozens of dogs and a few cats each week. Dogs love computer guys. Many people have told me, "My dog never is this friendly with anyone!"

7. You are  asked by wives to help monitor husband's and kids Internet activity and you are asked by husbands how to delete history and cookies.

6. You get to setup brand new computers each week and inhale that new computer smell.

5. You get to explain how problems happened with phrases like, "I told you last time that Norton Antivirus slows down your computer" or "That's why I told you not to backup your Quicken on CD-ROM or a flash drive"

4. After working on a computer problem for an hour and using every tool in your software bag to get rid of it, not to mention tweaking dozens of settings, you have to answer the question, "What did you do to fix it?"

3. You get to hear the phrase, "I am a computer illiterate," "I know nothing about computers," "I only know enough about computers to get into trouble," "You know those Computers for Dummies books - those were written for me." dozens of times each week.

2. You get to see how other people live their digital lives. No two computers or offices are the same and I get many ideas from those that I work for.

1. Job security. I try to never leave a problem partially fixed. I aim to meet every need of every client because I know that I will always be back eventually. Every computer has problems. Every computer user  needs help eventually. I spend my day helping people by fixing their computers. I am a doctor, a mechanic, a librarian and a teacher all crammed into one geek package.

EMAIL OF THE WEEK

Dear Rick,

I travel a lot in my job, therefore staying in a lot of motels and hotels. A lot of these places have Hi-Speed Internet, but many of them use WiFi/wireless. I was wondering what you would recommend for security for these type of set ups. I do banking on the Internet so I want to make sure I'm protected. I have heard a lot about JiWire and Protexx, but I am unsure if either works sufficiently.

Thanks
Ron

----------------

Hello Ron,

Thanks for writing. As wireless networks get more ubiquitous, we all use public, not so safe wireless networks to get online. Here are some rules to remember and follow when using these sites:

1.  Avoid online shopping and banking while on a public wi-fi network...especially typing in credit cards and passwords. IF you must check a bank account or other financial or shopping site, do so at the END of your session, then get off the network immediately.

2.  Don't use Internet Explorer. Use an alternative browser like Firefox or Opera. Overall they are more secure and less likely to be hacked.

3.  Make sure your Windows firewall is enabled or other firewall.

4.  Turn off Windows File Sharing by RIGHT clicking your wireless network card, Click Properties, and uncheck the Microsoft File and Printer sharing option.

5.  Paid hot-spots like Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, etc might be a tad safer than a free hot spot at the local hot dog stand.

6.  Hackers in larger cities might try to spoof an existing hot spot network and get an "Evil Twin" (real term) to show up in your wireless network scanner that looks like a legit network. When in doubt, don't connect.

7.  Of course, always have your Internet security software updated and running...anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc.

8.  As with any crime, being aware of your surroundings is paramount. If something or someone smells fishy, shut down your wireless and look for an alternative place to connect.

Regarding the Protexx and Jwire wireless security solutions, I haven't personally used them, but they both get good reviews and will add another layer of security for you. However, unless you are traveling daily to new hot spots in larger cities and need to have access to personal and financial information on the web dail, I don't think it is necessary.

These are some rules and guidelines for you while traveling, but don't let them discourage you from connection to wireless networks. Just be smart about it and you shouldn't have any problems.

Happy travels!

Rick

Castellini on Computers & HelpMeRick.com  ©2007
Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran