tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:32:33 +0000http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/default.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)Blogger97125Technology/Tech Newsnoreply@blogger.comnotag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-1995653459152977740Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:43:00 +00002009-07-05T13:32:33.052-05:00gatewayxp installationdriversI've just installed Windows XP on a Gateway GT5694 and finding the drivers wasn't the easiest thing in the world. I'm posting the drivers that I used to install, including the SMBus, Wireless, Video, etc. Be aware that some of these were direct from Gateway and are the Vista drivers which contain the XP drivers as well. A couple were direct from RealTek and from ATI. If you have any trouble http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/CRriH28GgoI/gateway-gt5694-with-windows-xp.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/CRriH28GgoI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/07/gateway-gt5694-with-windows-xp.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3534225259241743532Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:38:00 +00002009-06-27T08:38:55.354-05:00Just got my emailed invite from Google Voice! It looks like they might be rolling it out to the full public soon. What is cool about a Google number? It gives you one central number that can ring mulitple devices (cell phone, home phone, office phone, etc). Think about the power of that for a minute. There are also features like SMS, voice mail transcription to SMS, and more. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/awWF353ClJI/got-my-google-voice-number.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/awWF353ClJI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/06/got-my-google-voice-number.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-4091536382553517462Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:26:00 +00002009-06-17T22:26:12.784-05:00My first attempt to update to the iPhone 3.0 software on Windows XP resulted in a "Hardware Not Found" message when the Windows Hardware Wizard attempted to install the new drivers. Unplugging the phone and plugging back in didn't help. Pointing the Hardware Wizard to the default driver location didn't help. Apparently the driver was corrupted? I even tried downloading an alternate copy, but http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/7TqWALEaHkw/updating-iphone-3g-to-30-software-issue.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/7TqWALEaHkw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/06/updating-iphone-3g-to-30-software-issue.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-5332896734293454481Wed, 06 May 2009 13:22:00 +00002009-05-06T08:22:01.094-05:00vimeoriaaAs usual, not a day goes by that the RIAA (Recording Industry A--hole Association) doesn't prove themselves to be greedy incompetent bastages (reference to Johnny Dangerously). I've warned a lot of clients and friends about using caution when posting content online that is not 100% original. Here is a good case for that warning. Warner Music Group: All your memories belong to us http://http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/brFKoKamhhw/be-careful-posting-home-movies.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/brFKoKamhhw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/05/be-careful-posting-home-movies.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-2414505050519231488Wed, 06 May 2009 12:40:00 +00002009-05-06T07:40:19.163-05:00blogpressringcentralkindleiphoneAs most of you know, I am absolutely thrilled with my iPhone. It has been the one device that has truly begun to transform how I do things. Here is a quick list: Accepting credit card payments via CC Terminal by Innerfence Time tracking / invoicing via Timewerks Synchronized contacts and calendar by Google Twitter posting via Tweetie Blogging with BlogPress e-Books via Stanza and the Amazon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/bb9fuFMHn80/iphone-personal-and-business.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/bb9fuFMHn80" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/05/iphone-personal-and-business.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-913355440332481751Wed, 06 May 2009 04:20:00 +00002009-05-05T23:20:20.469-05:00At the suggestion of one of my blog readers (from this post), I have added some donation buttons to the right side of the blog. There are two choices: (1) Using secure PayPal and (2) using my secure Authorize.net payment form. Donations are requested but not required. I post information here for the benefit of everyone, and because I love sharing information. If you do find that some of my http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/-mfeTzvOgu8/donation-buttons.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/-mfeTzvOgu8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/05/donation-buttons.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-5932346906319679302Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:27:00 +00002009-04-24T07:27:36.260-05:00firefoxblogThis was just funny - I've been using a cool Firefox extension (ScribeFire) to blog. One of the cool things about it is that you can pull up the blog window in your browser and click through to pages. Plus the editor tool works great.Anyway, they just updated the extension. On first launch you get redirected to www.scribefire.com/make_money which gives a 404 error - Not Found. Well darn - that http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/9OoQsjei-R0/scribefire-making-money-not-found_24.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/9OoQsjei-R0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/04/scribefire-making-money-not-found_24.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-4825717671973036716Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:39:00 +00002009-04-19T10:39:15.208-05:00In doing some research for a couple of web projects, I came across How to Nail an Interview - with 22 tips for getting hired. Since I've been on the interviewer side of things and and can relate to some of these, I thought I'd share the site with you. How To Nail An Interview (Tip 11)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/qc_W5fOnNaA/interesting-interviews.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/qc_W5fOnNaA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/04/interesting-interviews.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3612447862033957628Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:42:00 +00002009-04-17T08:15:36.206-05:00Well I've always maintained that Mac's were safer that Windows boxes - not just because Apple had minor market share, but OSX was based on a BSD (Unix) variant and thus had security in the core design. However, this news should rattle a few of the Mac users. Researchers have found signs of a Mac botnet that apparently can get access to the root password. If you own a Mac - you might want to readhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/SQs6ewBQuCI/mac-zombies-uh-oh.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/SQs6ewBQuCI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/04/mac-zombies-uh-oh.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3254667557109913491Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:19:00 +00002009-04-06T08:19:06.237-05:00spyware and malwaresecurityconfickerLast week was fun in the IT (information technology) world. Not because of any real damage by conficker - but because of the absolute media over-hype of something they don't have a clue about. I had a couple of customers call me - and the conversations were short: "Rex, do we need to worry?" - "No Bob you don't." - "Ok - thanks Rex." absolute media over-hype of something they don't have a clue http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/_Hcurdx8bQo/conficker-what-you-should-really-know.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/_Hcurdx8bQo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/04/conficker-what-you-should-really-know.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-1693378609703283673Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:08:00 +00002009-03-19T17:08:47.907-05:00urban legendssmsThis is nearly as bad as forwarding emails for urban legends. For the past 2 days a text - sms - message was circulating around the Shreveport / Bossier City area claiming a gang initiation at Wal-Mart was going to take place. Supposedly, 3 women would be shot. FWD: Police r askn all women do not go to walmart 2nite there is a gang initiation n 3 women will be shot. This is not a prank this is http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/XSeNgbo6mz8/stupid-text-is-as-stupid-does.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/XSeNgbo6mz8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/stupid-text-is-as-stupid-does.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-623228387135870400Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:28:00 +00002009-03-18T07:28:13.192-05:00erasing dataencryptionWhen you put a file in your "recycle bin" or "trash can" on your computer, it is not really gone - not even after you empty the recycle bin. The information can be recovered with freely available software. Granted, over time the file becomes harder and harder to recover, but it can be recovered. You can permanently erase a file though. Free programs such as Eraser allow you do erase single fileshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/CjVGT4OS4gg/erasing-your-data.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/CjVGT4OS4gg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/erasing-your-data.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-4187493554852270592Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:46:00 +00002009-03-13T21:46:06.425-05:00I've found a new best friend as a parent - Hulu. My twin boys have been watching movies all afternoon. That was a welcome rescue since they've been trapped inside all day.-- Post From My iPhonehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/5ep0MTQRmzA/hulu-saves-rainy-day.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/5ep0MTQRmzA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/hulu-saves-rainy-day.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-4268613529925201702Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:43:00 +00002009-03-05T12:51:00.771-06:00iphonechaseSo far I've been pretty pleased with Chase bank. The tellers are generally friendly and the online banking site is pretty good - so far. About 2 weeks ago, when I ported my Verizon number over to AT&T for my new iPhone, I noticed that I stopped receiving text alerts from my Chase account for transactions. I logged into my Chase account and decided to delete my text alert profile and then re-add http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/PGhFWo95l3s/chase-bank-error-code-1300.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/PGhFWo95l3s" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/chase-bank-error-code-1300.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-8410828129616892068Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:31:00 +00002009-03-04T09:33:34.895-06:00As most of you are aware, I switched over to an iPhone a couple of weeks ago. I've got to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it. Just the Google Sync (calendar and contacts) feature alone is worth the money spent. Then there is the Apps Store - this is arguably one of the most addictive things for the iPhone. I seem to have fallen into the Apple realm of throwing money - albeit $.99 and $3.99 ishttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/1CpAigN8u0U/blogpress-review_9254.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/1CpAigN8u0U" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/blogpress-review_9254.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-7189063962891680437Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:12:00 +00002009-03-02T23:21:38.124-06:00iphoneWell I've had my iPhone for a week now. So far I love it. There are a lot of cases where I don't have to take my laptop - I can just take my phone.This is my first test from the iPhone using iblogger. We will see how it turns out.I tried blogpress for the iPhone but it's not very robust. The only cool feature was inserting pics, but the app locked up with multiple blogs.Mobile Blogging from here.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/mAGLhJ4f4MM/test-from-iphone.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/mAGLhJ4f4MM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/03/test-from-iphone.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3310088723806087448Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:46:00 +00002009-02-18T09:46:26.136-06:00gmailgoogle appsgoogleiphoneWell I finally bit the bullet and purchased an iPhone. That means I had to port my phone number from Verizon to AT&T - so you may have gotten an "out of service" message yesterday between 5pm and 6pm while the migration took place.Over the last few years, I know that I have stressed the superiority of Verizon's phone service, but let's face it. Verizon's phones just suck - badly. The Blackberry http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/kJwNNl-Rqu8/iphone-and-deal-with-at-devil.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/kJwNNl-Rqu8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/02/iphone-and-deal-with-at-devil.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-1828521299918956661Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:45:00 +00002009-02-14T23:59:22.401-06:00emailgmailgoogle appsgoogleIt's an old dilemma that I encounter frequently - you have a Yahoo!, AOL, Hotmail, and Gmail account. You are tired of logging in to check all of them. Some email programs don't work well them - for example you have to pay Yahoo $20 a year for features that Gmail offers for free. What do you do? Gmail (or Google Apps) is the answer. Period.With POP and IMAP support as well as contact import and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/usy2FmUKzaM/consolidating-email-accounts-there-can.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/usy2FmUKzaM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/02/consolidating-email-accounts-there-can.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-2536477492387794183Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:45:00 +00002009-02-14T21:45:38.126-06:00Well, it seems that I now have another reason to NOT recommend Carbonite for backup services.As most of you know, I have been using and recommending JungleDisk as my backup service of choice. So far, I've been very pleased with its performance, features, and support. It makes recovering from disaster very easy. I can also use it for version tracking while working on things such as proposals, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/z1yrq3Hrd-I/carbonite-versus-jungle-disk.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/z1yrq3Hrd-I" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/02/carbonite-versus-jungle-disk.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3793463749525411651Sat, 31 Jan 2009 04:17:00 +00002009-01-30T22:21:07.775-06:00--------- From Email --------- to    Rex Moncrief date    Fri, Jan 30, 2009 at 3:41 PM subject    Skype Hey Rex, have some questions about Skype. I don't want to let my home phone number go, but, I'm tired of paying att too much just for local calls. I know you use Skype and have been using it. I know you like it, too. Is it worth getting rid of the land line? ------------- My Reply ----------http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/8Rwobj92D1I/no-landline-and-skype_9231.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/8Rwobj92D1I" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/no-landline-and-skype_9231.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-7811471183570341883Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:27:00 +00002009-01-30T08:31:09.963-06:00firefoxI just reviewed a great interview with Brendan Eich, CTO of Mozilla. If you are using Firefox and are interested in how something free is organized and directed, this is a great video to watch. It takes about 10 mins.http://video.zdnet.com/CIOSessions/?p=347Brendan discusses organizing open source contributors, how Google Chrome is affecting the Firefox strategy, and other things.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/qvpUCixXEaw/firefox-and-direction.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/qvpUCixXEaw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/firefox-and-direction.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3255531269259877530Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:35:00 +00002009-01-18T23:43:18.497-06:00credit cardThis is one of those little aggravating things that I finally decided to blog about. Have you ever been to a convience store (or some merchant) that required you to purchase at least $5 in order to use your credit card? I've encountered this a few times when I stop to get my kids a Dr. Pepper or something - and I don't really want to buy anything else. If you have, then that merchant is http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/CHASdv_10wE/minimum-purchase-amounts.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/CHASdv_10wE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/minimum-purchase-amounts.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-8119746297806967953Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:01:00 +00002009-01-18T17:06:53.685-06:00================== From Customer Email ================== Follow-up via email about the privacy registration. Remember, it doesn't hurt to do a private registration if you are more comfortable with that. I just tend to be very practical and realistic about things. (1) When you register a domain name, the information that you use is entered into the WHOIS database. This information serves a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/xCMa3lu0eu8/domain-registration-and-privacy.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/xCMa3lu0eu8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/domain-registration-and-privacy.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-3606107320016838110Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:45:00 +00002009-01-08T07:56:33.158-06:00backuprule #1encryptionWhile scanning through some email newsletters, I came across this article . It looks like data security is still an afterthought to many organizations. I cannot stress enough that it is very important to secure your important data. Even home users have Quicken, Money, or Quickbooks files. I have several clients that store a list of their passwords or other important information in Word documentshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/KxwfDvWPzho/about-encrypting-your-data-again.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/KxwfDvWPzho" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/about-encrypting-your-data-again.asptag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8247312106088449695.post-2475932933813139464Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:09:00 +00002009-01-06T18:20:43.464-06:00picasamacWhile doing some quick research for a customer of mine with a Mac - I ran across the Youtube Video from Google showing off Picasa for the Mac. I'm very glad Google finally released it! http://picasa.google.com/mac/ As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of Google's products - and I use Picasa to manage all of my pictures . I even signed up for Google's extra storage (10GB), although you get 1GB http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~3/4u_QPf6SHaM/picasa-for-mac-finally_06.aspnoreply@blogger.com (Rex Moncrief)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheSmartergeekBlog/~4/4u_QPf6SHaM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.smartergeek.com/blog/2009/01/picasa-for-mac-finally_06.aspen-usnonadult