Sometimes we have things go wrong.

Computers, cell phones, fax machines, copiers, etc…

What do you do when you need these things to work and they don’t?

How do you know what to do with them and decide if they need replacing or just maintenance?

How much will it cost?

I created a checklist for you to easily identify what the problem can be and how to proceed next.

So here’s my 5 steps to minimize your technological meltdowns in the Future checklist:

1.  Don’t buy cheap appliances or devices that you will depend on when you need them. If you need it to just work then spend the extra money.

2.  Try to keep a cool head. When everything around you is going to hell, your emotions can impact your environment. The little things turn in atomic meltdowns, and technology is sensitive to these types of high energy environments. Take a breath before you fax, cool down before you copy that important document.

3.  Read the manual. I have solved innumerable problems by being able to go back to square one in the operations of a device and follow it step-by-step to accomplish certain tasks that were just not happening. When all else fails, read the manual again, then follow it.

4.  When all else fails – it may just be time to replace it and buy another one. You may not like it but things do break down and stop working.  If it ain’t working, then get a new one and get back to work.

5. When in doubt or just want it done, contact  me. Many times a issue or frustration can be alleviated by calling on someone who knows this stuff better than you do. I have helped many a friend and associate troubleshoot, resolve an issue or diagnose the need to replace in a matter of minutes versus spending hours or days on a machine that just isn’t going to work no matter what you do.

I hope that these steps will help you in the future.

If you are experiencing a technology crisis, you can contact me through the form below, and I will try to help you resolve your problem or point you in the right direction.

Everybody wants to read your mail[^]

Ever since there has been email, there has been controversy as to how private it is.

In the early years thru the 90′s many ISPs had no way of going through all of the data, so they hired 3rd party developers to create “sort-n-serve” tools that we now call search engines.

If you think that google is the only one looking for the keywords in your inbox, think again.

What do you think Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL have been doing for years. They may not be as direct as google and TELLING you that they are doing it, but they are.

Fool yourself all u want, but the truth is everyone of the services u use wants to use your data as a way to advertise or to forcast trends and social movements.

As for me I don’t care if they read my mail, so long as I can download the file into my thunderbird app and take it with me.

The only real option for privacy is to stop using the internet and your cell phone. Yeah, good luck with that!

To Buy or Not To Buy?

Recently Apple has released its next market changing product the IPAD. A large sized version of its recent recreation the iTouch.

With a full screen size of slightly smaller than a sheet of paper (roughly 7.5 x 9.5 inches) it is the newest tough computing addition to hit the market since the tablet pc.

I have reviewed it and looked it over in the apple stores, and I have to admin it looks sleek, is a lot lighter than a laptop, and can be very handy for mobile computing in office and data entry environments.

Is it really worth it?

After the wow factor wore off, I had to really ask myself – is this really worth it to spend another $500 for a touch tablet that can’t run most of my existing software.

Can I really justify using in a regular office environment any more than my trusty laptop has already done for me. And at a lower cost to maintain!

Think real hard and consider what you are paying for. Don’t get me wrong, if I had the money to blow on a new computing device, all shiny with the fresh out of the box smell, then yeah.

Otherwise why did I buy its older yet small cousin the iTouch for…?

It all comes down to how you use it.

I’d make a joke about how size doesn’t matter, being a guy and all, but when it comes to getting a job done (for a computer) size DOES matter.

More power, more MIPS (that’s a measurement of computing power, look it up) and storage space all add up to a well though out machine.

But the one thing that puts my wallet back in my pocket is the $500 price tag for the base model. I can buy a fully loaded laptop for that price, and I don’t have to worry about scratching the glass screen while I work on it.

So you have a choice…

You can stick with a time tested computing platform that has all the bells and whistles you can shake your wallet at.

Or you can be the first to own an untested, undetermined computer that who knows how long it will take you to see that shiny glass break and make it all come to a screeching halt.

If you have one, or would like to share your experiences with the IPAD or iTouch  leave your comments. I want to hear from you.

What I found out bothered me so bad I had to let you know…  I have created a lot of videos for the web and membership sites.  I use camtasia to record, edit, enhance, and produce 90% of them in Camtasia Studio  5.

I then took a chance to upgrade to version 6.

So I downloaded it, tried it out, and found out that you CAN’T make FLV’s from the new version.

It only creates SWF / MP4 videos.

Now if you are making content for Ipods or other portable devices that might be great. But not for me, I have another tool that batches those jobs just fine.

And I got it for free!

Not like this Camtasia Upgrade. It would cost me over $150 to upgrade and it doesn’t have the one feature I use the most.  With an exception to the added coding to make re-rendering, resizing and producing videos more smoothly with less errors or redo’s [ I hate wasting time on redo's] then Camtasia is a pretty nice peace of software.

Also I have to hand it o techsmith for coming up with some pretty awesome tools, when there were way overpriced, under performing tools that couldn’t do half the things camtasia or snagit for that matter.  That being said is still no excuse for removing the FLV option. I can’t use SWF’s for what I do, and most of the videos your looking at online are streaming FLV’s anyways, so save yourself the trouble and DON’T Upgrade to Camtasia 6.

At least not until they put the FLV back into it.

As the saying goes, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it any more…”    so I did something about it. I stopped upgrading and went back to the version I like best, version 5.

Lets hear what you have to stay.

Does your computer run much slower than you when you first got it?

Are programs taking too long to load?

If your answer to any of these questions is YES, then you probably have some kind of bug in your system.

Your computer slowing down isn’t a natural degradation of your PC, only if you fill up your hard drive should you notice a change in your computers speed.

The problem is more than likely to be parasitic software that is eating your computers resources and slowing it down. The culprits are most commonly called spyware or adware. And together these nasty programs are classified as Malware.

They do a lot more than just slow down your computer however.

There are a few telling signs that you have some sort of spyware or adware on your computer (almost all web connected computers have at least some form of it.)

• Your Computer runs much slower than it used to
• If you’ve ever downloaded music or movies off of the web from an ad filled webpage
• You often find yourself closing obnoxious popups or removing software that you don’t recall installing
• You find your default web page changed without your approval
• The websites you want to look at suddenly changes to another page you didn’t click on or want to go to?

Sound familiar?

If you think these are just expected, when in fact it is most likely due to viruses such as spyware and adware infecting the system.

Just because you often browse the internet and popups fly out of every direction doesn’t mean that it’s the website’s fault. In most circumstances (for good sites anyways) it is actually some code on your PC causing it.

Hearing the word spyware tends to evoke an image of never-ending popups for most web users.

The biggest problem with these parasites is that most users don’t know just how dangerous they can actually be. The truth is, you have way more to worry about than just those annoyances. Not only are you risking your privacy by having spyware, but you’re risking your life as you know it.

That last statement may seem a bit drastic, but it isn’t.

What spyware is really capable of is a very scary notion for your security and safety online.

Not only can it track every website that you visit, but it can track the information that you provide to said site. If you go to your online banking account and enter your information, spyware has the ability to transmit all of your bank information back to its creator.

It doesn’t stop there either. More often than not, once this information is transmitted to the spyware’s author, they then sell it to hundreds or thousands of individuals. That means your bank information, social security number, and charge card numbers could be sitting in hundreds of people’s emails.

That is how identity theft really happens.

Spyware and adware are beatable.

There are free tools that will help you get rid of it. In order to keep your privacy on the internet, you’ll need to rid yourself of any spyware and adware that is on your computer.

There are so many tools these days that say they get rid of spyware and adware that you just don’t know which ones to trust.  I have spent ears searching and testig the right programs that remove the malware, spyware, adware from your computers for free if you do it yourself. Or you can have me do it for a low cost, see Computer Repair to find out more.

So don’t wait for you to have your computer break down from bugs and spyware, clean it out before it’s too late!

I work from home, running my internet based businesses and had to come to realize that when my internet goes down, I go down. Hard.

Without the internet, my high-speed connection and fast upgraded computers none of the articles and ‘things’ you see on my site would be there. I need to be online 24/7 365 days of the year. I can’t work without it. I can’t keep up with my hobbies, or interests without the internet and my connection.

So when I read an blog post about this guys experience it rang a bell in me and I had to share it with you and the other readers.

So I left a Comment in response to a blog post at MIT Technology Review:

you can read the article and my comment by clicking on the link.

This is what I said:

Yes it is amazing that it all works in those moments between complete high-speed bliss and the shattering reality of when it comes to a screeching halt. No Connection.

Your internet connection and what systems you use to access is it, is as precarious as our water and power supplies, and just as fragile and prone to sudden death without much warning.

I for one used a standard connection like Comcast High-Speed cable, simply because if the cable goes out, something Major happened.

I don’t trust wireless providers to entrust my Internet connection to. Maybe when we have Satellite WiFi, then I will consider the future of wireless computing a little closer to the dream of unfettered Mobile Connectivity.

Does that mean that Notebook Computers are the computers to get? or can a Tower Computer

Lets review some aspects of computers and you decide which one is best for your needs.

Myth #1: Portable computers cost more

so unless you really have the need for one, you get a lot more for your money with a regular desktop PC.

The major thing is portability and accessibility. If you need access to information or to take action right now,  then get a laptop. (“Laptop,” “portable,” and “notebook” all refer to the same thing, by the way). Otherwise, a desktop computer is a better buy, and better economically.

However they take up more space and you have to come back to it to get work done.

The Price Difference is only the Beginning

You might wonder why laptops cost more than desktop computers with comparable features and power.

It is largely because it’s more expensive to manufacture laptops and their parts, because of their small size. For portable computers such as notebooks, factors such as compactness, the amount of heat they generate, their weight, and power consumption are more essential than they are for desktops.

Also their processing power and memory are factors that add to their manufacturing costs.

Myth #2: Notebooks don’t have a lot of space

While notebooks are certainly compact, a desktop computer with a flat panel monitor can take up almost as little space, depending on the box configuration.

While called a “desktop” computer, the computer itself is most often kept on the floor. That leaves just the monitor, keyboard and mouse on the desk, which is really very similar in footprint to a moderately sized notebook computer.

A major way to further reduce the space taken up by a desktop computer is get a keyboard drawer to hide the keyboard and mouse. That way, they slide out of the way under the top of the desk when they aren’t needed. Thus saving space and giving you more room to work.

Be Mindful of Ergonomics

Comfort and ease of use can mean everything to your computer experience. Ergonomics is the science of designing and arranging things so that people can interact with them more comfortably and safely.

The elementary ergonomic principals for computer use tell us that:

1) the keyboard should be as close to your lap level as possible (assuming you touch-type), and your mouse at a close reach also.

2) the monitor should be about arm’s length in front of you, and your wrists in a natural position over your keyboard.

3) the top of the monitor should be at about your eye level.  When possible use a stand to hold the notebook at an ideal angle. That ways its easier to read and doesn’t strain your neck looking down at the screen.

It is obvious then, that a desktop computer is much better ergonomically than a notebook is.

For prolonged use,  you’re much better off with a desktop computer. However you may find that a notebook with the right sizing to your hands and lap may serve you well and provide mobility where a desktop will not.

Remember Usability

Another aspect of ergonomics to consider is usability.

Because of size constraints, laptops have less scalability than desktop PCs. Desktops can be updated upgraded and enhanced. Whereas a notebook is only as good as what it was bought having built into it. There is only so much you can change on a notebook. You can add memory, both RAM and Hard Drive capacity, but only to certain limit.

Also you can’t change the monitor size.

Desktops all you need to do is swap out your smaller monitor for a larger one. No other additional parts or cables required, its truly plug-and-play when it comes to desktop monitors.

The same goes for keyboards, mice, printers, scanners and the lot.

Notebooks you have to buy with those features built in, and the more you want the higher the price. But for many on the go or those who like having their information and programs at arms reach anywhere, the cost of a notebook is worth the trade-off of not having to come back to home or the office to get those needed files.

Myth#3: Notebooks are hard to see what your working on

Computer monitors can be set at different resolutions.

In other words, you can change the fineness of the image on the screen. The range is typically 1024×768 — that is 1024 pixel across and 768 pixels up and down — to 1900×1600, or even higher.  The higher the resolution the clearer your pictures and movies will look to you.

The most common resolutions today for desktop computers are 1024×768 and 1280×1024 however the more costly notebooks have bigger screens and better graphics cards.

Also screen resolution has to work with your screen size. If you have a 15″ monitor or smaller then 1024×768 is about as big a resolution you can use. Whereas a screen of 17″ up to 32″ can have resolutions much higher, meaning you can fit more windows and files on the screen.

Something They Don’t Tell You

Laptop displays have a native resolution. You can adjust the setting, but then the images and text don’t look good if you go higher than recommended. While people tend to think that bigger numbers are better, a higher screen resolution may not work as well for you. It may make everything too small to see comfortably.

Remember, the laptop’s screen is commonly smaller that a desktop’s. While a typical desktop computer screen is 17″ or so, a laptop’s is usually in the range of 14″ to 15.” That makes a large difference in what you can view at one time. Make sure you can see everything clearly before choosing a high-resolution laptop.

Conclusions

Notebooks:

Pros - they are light, portable, and have many of the same capacities of desktops without all the cords and accessories.

Cons – they cost 2-3 times more than a desktop, are limited by built in features such as screen and keyboard size. They aren’t easily upgraded. However these are some of the selling points for buying a notebook. They do what you bought it to do.

Desktops:

Pros -They are more affordable and come with many great features out of the box, speed, screen size and ergonomic design of keyboard and monitor has made desktops a great starter to those new to computing.

get one here

Cons – They are bulky, take up much more power, have tons of cords and accessories to plug in. You have to come back to it to get work done, and they are difficult to move around, even in the same room.

My suggestion is to consider what you do that requires a computer.

get one for [price] here

Just to get work and emails now and then, get a desktop. If you are an avid internet users, are on the go with work and home, and like the ability to have all your information at arms reach, get a notebook.

Here are 5 reasons why you ought to use a blog as an Internet marketing tool to make extra money.

1. Blogging is incredibly simple to do. The simplest way to get started on the net is with a blog. No skills are required except to have an opinion or new view point. It is like having a virtual journal where you write your ideas, experiences, new products you have found, and trust that the truth about your opinion come out and encourages your readers to try the product, or avoid it based on your experiences. If you have a Computer with an Internet connection, and have an opinion (who doesn’t?) then you can blog.

2. Blogging is all about people, not just products.In a time where advertising saturates our lives, we have come to question the trustworthiness of the praises and promises made.

On the other hand, within blogs, real people share their experiences, unscathed by big advertisers. Reading blogs regarding personal product use is like getting advise from a good friend. Why buy or use something or some service if someone you trust won’t?

If you are completely truthful, you can gain someone’s trust through your experiences.

3. Most Blogs are free of charge. Since blogging requires no more skills than having an Internet connected computer and a desire to share your opinion or experience it’s a sure way to get started on your way to building some G-cred(google credibility).

4. Blogging builds your authority. If you are sincere and upfront when giving your thoughts on a particular product or industry, your readers will start to realize that they can rely on your posts for their information. As you become known as an expert on your subject, more readers will go to your site and more bloggers will link to your blogs.

As businesses and specialized organizations notice the increase of your readership base, they may get in touch with you to ask if they can advertise on your blog, or request you to be an affiliate of their product or service.

5. Blogging increases your market. Unless you are a movie or sports star, chances are only your relatives will see your blog in the beginning. But as you create new high-quality content, your posts will begin to be noticed and get additional people visiting. Your visitor statistics will grow, your opportunity to be known as a great source of information grows, which equals more chances to make money.

Blogging is quickly replacing e-mail in efficiently reaching and expanding a market. In an age where people are annoyed with the number of e-mails they receive, you can simplify their life by offereing them all the information they need with your blog. If you use the right methods, and continuously update your blog with sincere and new subject matter, you can certainly get set-up to make extra money on the Internet. So, provide your business an enhancment by implementing a blog as a powerful tool to reach new people and make money by advertising products and services that you recommend.

Remember the more trust and honest your blogging, the more people will follow your blog and believe that you are helping them. Break that trust and all your work will be forgotten. I trust you will do the right thing. Be honest with yourself and your readers then you have nothing to lose.

Here are some examples of low self esteem. Some are aspects you might have on your mind, ones that you need improvement on.

1. Are you afraid to converse with others for fear that what you say might not make sense?
2. Do You feel swallowed up in a whirlpool of frustration?
3. Nothing you do seems to go right?
4. You choose something and it turns out to be the worst one.
5. Do You believe that you are not attractive?
6. Do You believe that most people do not like you?

Think about it for a moment. You probably realize that it’s actually your thoughts that is the issue. There is nothing wrong with you, only it’s your thoughts that are the issue after all.

Begin the self esteem improvement process right now. Start by thinking the right way. If you think you’ll win, then you will. But you have to remember that success doesn’t come easily. Success is a messy process, that’s why determination is a major component.

Low self esteem happens a lot when people lose their heart and give up too easily.  Just because of a little disappointment or set back you lapse into a “I just can’t do it” mentality. If only you had persevered, who knows what great things you might’ve achieved.

Life can be pretty boring if you don’t have a high level of  self esteem. Start by changing the way you think, and you’ll start seeing yourself on top of the world. Set some targeted goals to achieve, and then focus on your goals.

Decide for yourself, whether you want to stay in a miserable state of low self esteem. Or do you want to improve your self-esteem by developing a higher self esteem with good self image and character instead?

Children are often made to believe that they are worthless. This is usually when a low self esteem begins to grow on one’s self. They were picked on, laughed at, pushed around, called ugly names, and treated with disdain. Their self confidence is eroded away and they succumb to the idea that they can never achieve success in anything that they do. No wonder they grew up to be full of resentment.

Low self esteem has never helped anyone and it surely will not help you! It can only drive you into depression, anger, grudge, fear and all the other evils that it generates.

Re-program your thinking and control your state of mind. You must believe that you are worth much more than you think or you will remain at the foot of the ladder and never make an attempt to climb it.  Do not waste your life away with feelings of inadequacies. Instead, think of ways to go about improve self-esteem. Success is yours, just reach out and grasp it.

Change your Mind, change your future.

How? By providing an exit for the passion that lives within you.  Focus on your inner passion and take control of your life.  It is time to improve your life style and your health through acting on your passions.

One of the best ways to eliminate stress from your life is starting your own business.  Finding yourself in a new business can dramatically drop your stress levels.

Here are some added benefits that can improve your way of being:

1. You run a business in the line of work you are passionate about.
2. You are less stressed and have more time for yourself and your family.
3. You find that you have more time to take vacations.
4. You find more time to focus on your inner spirit and spiritual needs.
5. You have more time to improve your condition of life and the life of others around you.
6. You find that you have less worries and can better help others with their issues in life.

I recognize it is hard to believe, but running your own business can improve your life and offer all the benefits above. Over the next few months I am going to be talking a lot about removing yourself from the daily grind and start an internet business from scratch.

I know a lot of you are afraid of small business scams, so all the information I will give you here will be free of risk and charge.  Sometimes just the reward of seeing your own internet small business grow can give your spirit the lift to move forward in life.  In later articles I will talk about internet marketing and how to go about putting yourself and your ideas in front of millions of people.

Several call it the rat race. That day after day grind can really affect your health, spiritual awareness and completely alter your personality in more ways than one.

In a few cases the daily grind has been known to cause heart problems, strokes and even cancer. And in rare yet known cases the stress on the mind and body can lead to sudden death.  The body can and will react to an environment that is very stressful. Unfortunately it is never for the better. I am going to show you how to remove yourself from this kind of environment.

I am going to give you free internet business information training. This free internet business information training, in a short amount of time, will give you that spark in life that you are currently missing.

So come back often to get all the info on how you can better your life with the methods I am going to be describing. In my coming articles I will be talking about how to pick the correct domain name for what drives your passion.

I will tell you exactly how to brain storm based on what is right for you. Finding bliss in your work environment is the same as within your personal life. All you have to do is focus on what drives your excitement and you will never go wrong.