Computer Vortex Tales – the first of an ongoing series.

I work at a computer store in Arizona which has has an interesting mix of spiritually inclined Apple and PC users. Individual perspectives here range from the sublime to the ridiculous. My co-workers are great. Our customers are too.  They range from the rich and famous to the poor and troubled.

My work life has encompassed a variety of businesses, from river guiding, to retail film processing,  to TV commercial location shoots.  All of these occupations have a range of marvelous stories to tell. Yet on any given day, we seem to have a higher then normal amount of unusual computer tales to tell.

People come in with requests ranging from removing the “gremlins” from inside their computer, to help restoring data from a backup hard drive which in actuality turns out to be a DSL Modem.

Now in fairness computers are a fast changing field and most of us feel like we are either on the bleeding edge of technology or standing way out in left field, some are not even in the ball park. Many don’t even want to be in the stadium at all, but can’t seem to resist forever. much like a moth is drawn to aflame.  Apple has done much to push the reluctant face first into the game with the allure of cloud computing and iDevices we are told we need to just to maintain a “good life”.

My job in all this, is to keep everyone on the field playing and hopefully enjoying the game. Some days easier said then done. I sit on that bleeding edge of the technology razor blade, and yes it does hurt. Everyday I wonder what Apple has come up with now, how it works and how to train others to use it for fun or profit. On top of Apple mania i have to know enough about the “also-rans” from cell phone providers like Verizon, internet based emails provider like google, audio video editing and also the proverbial question how to get PCs and Mac to play nice together.

Chimney Rock, Rainibow and Happy Man

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Norm working at Sundust Art Fair

Today I used a Verizon hotspot, on my iphone 4,  to work on a WordPress website at the  SunDust Gallery, gallery, craft fair.

I was technical and moral support for my partner Cindy Fowler at an art fair in Mesa Arizona. Cindy is a gifted weaver with an eclectic set of classic talents from making Prickly Pair Jelly to Seven grain bread.  After the booth was set up I had some time on my hands so I decided to pull out the laptop and do some WordPress web design for a client.

It quickly dawned on me that I had no internet connection, and could not move to one, as I needed to help host he booth. I did a little research on my iPhone for Verizon hotspot info.  With one quick call I was up and running.  I simply selected settings on my iPhone, then tapped on personal hotspot and turned it on. Verison let me set up my mobile password which I then shared with Cindy. We were both on-line in no time.  The service is pro-rated like on the iPad so I could do my work on location and turn it off when I got back to my regular home network.  Cindy, used it for her Square App to take credit card payments. I worked for about 4 hours and finished just as my battery ran dry.  Cost for the day about $1.50, work completed priceless.

I have been a fan of Verizon after many years of cell phone Hell.  After the great promise of Altel quickly paled with poor customer service and coverage, I switched. In the process I learned about the possible sever penalties for early termination. Fortunately for me the “This call may be recorded for training” caught the insults, threats and abuse by the customer service manager and suddenly Altel was only too glad to let me out of my contract.

I got a basic Verizon LG phone as soon as possible, then simply waited for them to offer the iPhone 4. Even as a Mac Lover, ATT was the Dark Side of providers, so I had yet another opportunity to practiced patience in my life.

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Lotus Flower in Pond Rigdzin Ling, California

Bodghaya Stupa Bihar, India

Druids Chair Avebury England

Sacred Spaces from Asia to the desert southwest are on exhibit as fine prints in the Flagstaff Photographic Center, by Norm Shrewsbury, with themes relating to meditation, and Tibetan, Buddhism

 “Sacred spaces are everywhere,
it depends more on one’s perspective than an official designation.”

The Photography of Norm Shrewsbury
Opens: Friday, October 7, 6 – 9 pm

Reception with the Artist at the FPC
Friday, October 21, 6 – 8 pm

Show Runs: October 7 – November 19, 2011

Flagstaff Photography Center
107 N San Francisco St #3
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
928-774-2544

info@flagstaffphotographycenter.com

www.flagstaffphotographycenter.com

“My intention with my images is to show the sacred essence these spaces possess. My recent work is inspired by 10 years of focused spiritual study of Tibetan Buddhism and a recent one year pilgrimage to East Asia visiting India, Japan, China, and Nepal.

“However, many of my favorite subjects, have been right here in the Southwestern United States. Utah and Arizona have contributed to a great majority of my images, as these are locations I have called home for the past 30 years. Providing fine art photographic prints to collectors for over 25 years that combine a passion for Eastern philosophy, quirky and dazzling sights, and interesting people.”

The book Sacred Spaces was released at the opening with over 80 images from around the world. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to support Tibetan refuges in exile in India.  Jean Rukila contributed eclectic accompanying text evoking the spirit of the images. Look for a future post for more info on the book.

A forth coming book “A year at Lotus Lake” along with a supporting WordPress blog will chronicle the one year pilgrimage Norm made to Asia in 2008- 2009.

Currently some of that trip can be seen on the website www.pathofhappiness.com
Mr. Shrewsbury is a former commercial photographer and movie cameraman once based out of Moab, Utah. He has integrated visual content into website design, e-commerce, blogs, social media, and training as a fine artist and a college professor in digital media technology, for over 25 years. He currently live in Sedona,  Arizona.

Related articles and sites

• What Is Sacred? (smpa.wordpress.com)
• “Kasuga Landscapes: Elegant Images of a Sacred Sanctuary” (search.japantimes.co.jp)
• Sacred Spaces Books

All Photos © Norm Shrewsbury, 2011
Sacred Spaces

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Digital Camera Accessories

From formatting memory cards, to rechargeable batteries, and using your digital cameras flash, Christmas can be a challenging time Here are  10 to-do’s and tips

More pictures are taken on Christmas then any other day of the year. It easy to understand why; relatives are visiting from long distances, and there is the joy on peoples faces as they open their gifts.  Picturesque snow scenes are just out the window. This holiday  is full of wonderful photo opportunities.

1 Be prepared and have your camera checked out before the wrapping paper starts flying in the wee hours of the morning.

2. Make sure the battery is charged or fresh batteries are installed if you don’t have lithium rechargeables.

3. Make sure you have a back up set of batteries as well, as you will be using the flash more for the indoor photos which drains the  batteries quicker.

4. Empty your memory card by downloading your existing pictures to your computer so you have plenty of room to take more. If you take video you need even more memory for the larger files.

5. Get a spare memory card so you don’ t have to stop and edit during the excitement, many of the best pictures are accidentally erased during the rush to take more.

6. Memory cards are miniature hard drives.  They need to be formatted before use and after each download. Warning this permanently erases the pictures from your card which is what you want, but only after they are safely backed up, and on you computer.

7. Take plenty of pictures especially the group photos so you are sure to get a good one with everyone having a nice expression. Remember it is digital so yo can easily delete them later.

8. Re-read instruction manual and practice a a bit, to learn what all those buttons do, before you have to push them. You paid for a camera with features but you have to understand how they work.

9. Ask a friend for some photo help with software and editing as well, really. You probably did not learn all of this at birth.

10. If you give a digital camera as a gift for Christmas or received one yourself, consider gifting or taking a class too, so you can have fun with your new toy and take even better pictures by this time next year.

Be sure to check my prior post on the top 5 photo editing programs as well.

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Nexus S Phone

Computer system integration with Google plus, Google Apps, plus Nexus s running  Android, plus chrome, plus Google OS = Apple cool for non apple users. Integrated apps, hardware and software all in the plural with phones net books,  and open source device.

A  recap; Google is the worlds number one internet search engine and a major player in business integration apps.

Google apps consists of  voice,  email, calender,  docs,  groups,  sites, and  video, Google sketch up and Google marketplace for e-commerce integration, plus Google analytics, and Google check out. Whew, how many items can you use Google in a sentence, with all it’s integrated systems a lot it seems?

What’s all the fuss about? Well like Avis and Hertz as rivalries back in the heydays of advertising as portrayed in Mad Men, Hertz may have been number two but they tried harder. First ruled IBM, then Microsoft, now Apple, but  “Nexus” Google is gaining fast.

Integration is the key to using technology. We need more things that play nice together if we are to truly benefit from all this rapid mental transformation and stress we face as computers come fully of age.  Microsoft with Bill Gates tried software integration, but in reality Office and Explorer were simply trying our patience. Apple is more intuitive with iLife usable software media integration and iPhone hardware integration but still… it is Steve Jobs way or the highway.

IBM birthed the industry, Microsoft brought it through its teen years. Apple made it an adult. Google is taking it to maturity, as Buzz Lighyear would say “And Beyond!”  Now, I am a late Apple convert, but as anyone reborn, beware the newly converted enthusiasm.

I don’t have an iPhone because I dislike ATT and love Verizon. The Nexus S by Goolge and Samsung now makes it harder still, as it will sold by Best Buy and Carphone and hosted be on  T-Mobil.  A great phone on a fair carrier. I don’t love them but I don’t hate them either hmm? Google rocks for both hardware, software, personal and business integration.

I give Google a buy sign, but wait till after Christmas and they get the bugs worked out. Unless the $199 is burning a hole in your pocket ($599 with out a contract) and you like to be on the bleeding edge of customer service calls, then go for when it is released around December 16th.

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Cloud computing diagram

Staying on the never ending cutting edge of computing or as a system manger said to me once, the bleeding edge of technology may soon get easier.  The newest trend is cloud computing. Now cloud computing is not really new so new, but the name may unfamiliar to many people.  Wikipedia defines cloud computing as  Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, as with the electricity grid.

Integrated server side databases for corporations and government applications have been around for years. It is after all basically the reason the internet was invented.  This integration  has not easily been available to smaller businesses, organizations and individuals until recently. Apple was an early adopter for the consumer market with its first version of a “dot”. mac  account.  It allowed user to sync their computers, documents, iTunes folders. Recently re- branded as Mobile Me it allows multiple users to share information.

Let me give you some examples of common applications you may already use; flicker.com for photos, netflix.com for movies, Google calendars. Hot new applications for business include salesforce.com this is a bit like a company version of facebook for business on an intranet, as well as the internet. it includes chat between individuals and departments, company date presentation a contact manger and a customer service manager.  Not surprising most of the applications have to do with a remote worker often a salesman getitng information to and from the home office quickly for orders, repairs, and technical answers.

Adobe Creative Suite Review  is a different animal.  It integrates with the whole set of CS5 applications including photography, graphics, page design, web sites, and video projects for graphic designers, clients, web developers, ad executives,  and photographers. The designer can make on the fly changes that everyone can see and comment on in real time, without being in the same room together.

What is the down side to the this amazing cloud technology? The very thing that makes it work, is its Achilles heel. If there is no electricity or internet there is no connection. You have nothing on your personal terminal to work with, or on. There are also security issues when the data is server based.  While it is great to have off site back ups, if the only copy is not in your present location others can have access without your knowledge. Information can be deleted, copied or modified.

So proceed wisely and with caution.  Make sure you have back ups.

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Scammed Graphic by Joel Becker/Dunn County News

I was suckered by an international internet Craig’s list fraud scam using James Voller (check out his web site), a New Zealand based photographer as the contact person.  He placed a job posting for a photographic savvy virtual assistant on Craig’s list, using email account jvoller1@yahoo.com.

After a trial period of two weeks doing various jobs to verify my honesty, he sent  me 3 – $975.01 US Postal Money Orders, totaling $2,975.03, for tuition in his next “photo class” in the Philippines.  These were drafted by James Kuzman his “class coordinator” forged as if from a Myrtle Beach PO, with a post mark from Florence, South Carolina.

I deposit them in Wells Fargo where they even held them for an extra day to “verify them”, then they released the funds to my account day three. I then withdrew $,1900 minus my $1,000  wages for the two weeks of prior work.  I sent the money  by Western Union “Money In Minutes” to his secretary Mark Jejomar, in Cebu, Philippines.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then later on day three after the original deposit, Wells Fargo placed a hold on my account, saying they were counterfeit Money Orders and depleted my account of $2,925.03.

When I called Wells Fargo in shock at the reversal of the funds when my debit card was declined, they said “Well, we had not really verified the money orders, that takes 10 days” even though they released the funds as available day three. They said they were not responsible. When they did try real verification later and payment was declined, they then realized their error and debited my account without even notifying me.

I finally got an email notification from them day 5, NICE; only three days late. They will hold a $20 credit card for a software plug-in I order on-line from a company based in Germany till they verify it with me, but release $3,000 without verifying it or calling me when they realize their error.

When I realized this and went to Western Union the funds had already been picked up. The teller at Safeway for Western Union just laughed as did the Wells Fargo Supervisor I finally spoke with, saying this happens all the time don’t I watch TV?  Well , No! I do not watch much TV as my business in way down.  I do not have the luxury of time or money to waste on cable or dish TV.  Which is why I was taking Craig’s list jobs to supplement my income in the first place.  Being self-employed I am not eligible for unemployment when I get laid off by my clients, because their business is also down.  I have given up on Craig’s list.  Every job post I applied to for work has been a dead-end or a scam.

Ironically when I called to speak with Western Union directly the call center was in the Philippines, as is Ebay’s and Adobe’s. United States companies are training the very people that work for them to defraud us, as well as giving them all the tools to do so;  from sophisticated printers, graphic design programs, on-line auctions,  job posting,  fast internet, and high tech training.

Please reply with a comment if  you have any similar stories or information to share.

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Norm Shrewsbury

Tech-Life with Norm now has a Facebook fan page, sharing his blog on technology, business, art, culture.

This is an easy way to keep up with my reviews, special events and other offers. Using social marketing allows you to join, in the discussion. I’ll help you learn how you can create your own profile page showcasing your business. With the on-going changes to Facebook it is a challenge to stay current. Just following my page can help keep you on track.

Start with getting a personal page and keep it updated. People love to see your pictures. Text entries alone just don’t have the impact. One picture is worth a 1,000 words especially if you are trying to update  a page on a smart phone.

Once you are comfortable with your personal page you can set up your business page.  Now business pages need a good website/blog to link to, so make sure your’s  is looking good as well. None of this information by itself will make you money but if it is all coordinated you will be in a great position to cash in on your primary product or service.

The internet coupled with good social networking is very effective and at a fraction of the cost of traditional print media advertising.  This kind of marketing is called pull marketing or attraction marketing. It is worth its weight in gold. People place much more faith in word of mouth. This is why it is so important to have a place to let others comment on your page.

Don’t worry you can still moderate comments so no one too far gets out of line. A balanced set of reviews makes you more credible.  Plus as the site administrator you can always have the last word.  It is your site after all.

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Listen while Norm and Rich of Sunny 100 FM.  discuss ideas as the holiday gift season rolls around yet one more time.  Here are some great tech gift ideas on what to give and what to hold off on with out being a Grinch.  Sure there is the standard iPad but there are some even better choices with more bang for the buck, included are cameras, TV, and computer buying suggestions as well.  Big screen HD TVs are dropping in price are are worth a look. Please listen to the audio for even more tips.

Apple iPad

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Business Balance Sphere

It only makes sense if you know your strengths and weaknesses you gain benefit form the knowledge. First play to your strengths. Life is easier that way. AS far as your weaknesses. Learn to work with them. You don’t have to be perfect at everything. Just trying your best makes a big difference, while trying to be perfect is likely to lower your self esteem and often creates performance anxiety which has just the opposite effect from what you are intending.

This is an audio file introducing the Business Sphere of Life recorded on Sunny 100 FM. It is an assessment tool to increase success while gaining balance in your work and personal life. For a personal interactive life sphere please visit www.shrewsburycoaching.com as well

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