Interrupt19

Android? iOS? Which one to choose?

David Balogh — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 12:00:55 +0000

First there was the Palm Treo. Then the Blackberry. Then came Windows Mobile, Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. Palm’s gone and RIM is falling apart. Windows Mobile never really took off. That leaves the two major smartphone platforms – iOS and Android. For a few years, with AT&T’s lock on the iPhone, it was either AT&T or Android. But Android didn’t have the Apps that iOS did.

Now that the iPhone is available on all the major US carriers, and Android’s gaining in popularity – Which one should you choose?

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Five Simple Steps to Password Security

David Balogh — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 12:00:21 +0000

In the recent Yahoo! security breach, 400,000 passwords were compromised. The most shocking part about it is the passwords were stored unencrypted. Thats right.. clear text unencrypted.

Between this most recent breach, LinkedIn, and countless others, other than quitting the internet – what can you do about it to protect yourself?

The following are five simple steps you can take right now to protect yourself and your online accounts:

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Data Recovery – The Easy, Hard and Send It Away Way

David Balogh — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 12:00:56 +0000

When your hard drive fails or your laptop breaks, how do you recover lost data? Sure, having a backup is great.. But what if you don’t? Or what if your backup isn’t so recent?

Just because a hard drive fails or your dropped laptop breaks, doesn’t mean your data is totally gone. In most cases it can be retrieved depending on the damage.

You’re going to have to do a process called Data Recovery. And there’s three different ways, each increasing in cost and difficulty.

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How to Quickly Identify Your MacBook’s Model (And Other Information)

David Balogh — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 12:00:22 +0000

When planning an upgrade, troubleshooting a problem, or figuring out what hardware your MacBook has, it’s important to know what model MacBook you own.

But what if you didn’t save the box it came in? What if you don’t remember anything about buying it? What if someone else bought it for you? What if Apple didn’t change the design over the past few years, and they all look alike? How do you figure out what your model number is?

Actually, it’s very easy to do.

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Eliminate Your Unreliable Hard Drive with a Solid State Drive

David Balogh — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 23:09:27 +0000

Ever lose your data due to a bad Hard Drive? Or were you lucky and just had a drive go bad?

Traditional Hard Drive technology is roughly 40 years old. It’s mechanical and was designed for stationary use. Hard Drives weren’t created for mobile use in laptops, phones or iPods. By nature of their design, they aren’t meant to be hauled around when powered up. Data is corrupted and destroyed due to vibration and shock. Their mechanical spinning platters also use precious battery life, generate heat and create noise.

Why bother with upgrading to a Solid State Drive? They’re expensive compared to traditional Hard Drives and their sizes are smaller – much smaller. So what’s so great about them?

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How to Print with an iPad

David Balogh — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:00:08 +0000

One of the iPad’s mysteries is printing. There’s no USB cable to attach to a printer. No built-in way to transfer stuff to a printer via WiFi. Not even in the iPad’s iWork suite is there a “Print” function.

If you were to use an iPad for any sort of business or educational purpose, what are you supposed to do?

Here are your iPad printing options:

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Managing your Blackberry on OS X

David Balogh — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:00:47 +0000

Before the iPhone, the smartphone of choice was a Blackberry. Even now Research in Motion’s offerings are a great competitor. Yes, the iPhone has the interface, touch surface and the app store that RIM envies but the Blackberry is still standard issue in the enterprise world. Many of you who have a work cell phone most likely have a Blackberry.

What if you have a Blackberry and a Mac? Not a problem. Here’s a simple way to sync your Blackberry’s contacts, music, photos and email with OS X.

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Time to Replace your Earbuds?

David Balogh — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:00:23 +0000

Apple’s earbuds are decent headphones but they don’t last forever. For example, after a few months of exercising with them, I’ve noticed mine showing wear and tear. That’s not the only reason you may want something else.

Perhaps you find the earbud design either uncomfortable, lacking in sound quality or just want something different.

Since you can plug anything with an 1/8″ jack into your iPod / iPhone, let’s look at what else is out there.

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How to Troubleshoot a Power Issue

David Balogh — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:00:46 +0000

Power issues are annoying. Either your laptop shuts off suddenly because the power cord unplugged, the battery craps out after 20 minutes, or it just doesn’t turn on at all..

Like all laptop manufacturers, Apple sometimes has battery issues. Or power adapter issues or power related logic board issues. How can you tell what exactly is wrong with your laptop that either won’t run or has a chronic dead battery?

Here’s how you can troubleshoot a bad battery, bad power adapter or bad logic board and is it covered under warranty / AppleCare.

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Quick Ways to Tag Audio Files for your MP3 Player

David Balogh — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:00:18 +0000

How does your MP3 player, iTunes and iPod know what song it’s playing, who wrote it and where did that tiny picture of the album cover come from?

Audio files like MP3s and AACs carry all sorts of meta data inside them, called tags. Common tags are the song’s name, artist, album title, year, track number and genre. Another common tag is an embedded picture, usually the album cover. iTunes and other MP3 players read these tags to organize their music libraries in an understandable way.

If you’ve ever had to manually tag audio files, you know how much of a pain it can be. Here are three quick and easy ways to easily tag your audio files for your iPod or whatever MP3 player you own.

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Impressions after playing with an iPad:

David Balogh — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:00:59 +0000

iPad, iPad, iPad. That’s the big focus in the news, on the internet and in all the Apple websites. Now, don’t get me wrong – I think its a pretty sweet device and I’ve spent some time playing with one. However, to call the iPad “Revolutionary” is a bit of a stretch – for now.

The following is a list of 10 observations I noticed about the iPad after playing with one for a little bit. Hopefully they will help you in deciding if one is for you or not.

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Replacing an External Drive

David Balogh — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:00:25 +0000

One fact that many consumers aren’t aware of is that external drives can easily be replaced or upgraded. All it takes is a little know-how, total lack of respect for possible warranties and a small eyeglass / electronics screwdriver.

Armed with the following knowledge, you’ll be able to replace or upgrade your drive and use it as an enclosure for other drives.

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10 Ways To Keep Yourself, and Your Mac Secure

David Balogh — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:00:56 +0000

OS X running Safari was hacked again at Pwn2own by Charlie Miller for the third year in a row. Tired of Apple’s (and other software companies) lackluster approach to securing their product, he announced he will not be disclosing vulnerabilities to them anymore. He’ll gladly show Apple how he finds them, hoping they will begin scanning and patching OS X.

While this doesn’t translate into a tsunami of OS X malware, nor is it a threat of impending doom, it reminds us that OS X is not the invulnerable OS you may think it is.

Since turning off the computer and hiding under a rock isn’t an option, follow these 10 tips to keep yourself secure.

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What is a Femtocell?

David Balogh — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:00:31 +0000

Femtocells are in the news lately, especially with AT&T’s announcement of an upcoming nationwide rollout, beginning in April. However, they aren’t the only ones in the Femtocell game. Sprint and Verizon are running trials in select US cities and T-Mobile is testing them in Europe.

Let’s explore what exactly is a Femtocell, what does it do, and should you consider one.

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What To Look For In An External Hard Drive

David Balogh — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:00:55 +0000

Out of all the accessories for a computer, one of the most useful is an external hard drive. With more and more of your life on your computer’s hard drive, the more files you’ll accumulate. Whether you want extra storage space, an easy way to work with large files on multiple computers, a backup solution, or just a place to keep your data, an external hard drive is a must have.

Shopping for one can be a bit tricky. There’s many brands, sizes, interfaces and price points. Here’s what to look for to determine what you need and what to shop for:

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