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techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:58:26 PDT

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Windows 7 - Should you upgrade?

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:34:46 PDT

Microsoft released Windows 7 this week. While early reviews are calling it a big improvement on Windows Vista and even the venerable Windows XP, I am going to issue my usual guidelines for upgrading.

* If it ain't broke, don't fix it

If you machine is working fine, then you probably don't need to upgrade unless there is a feature that Windows 7 provides that you simply MUST have

For Windows XP users, an "upgrade" to Windows 7 requires a complete data backup, hard drive re-format and re-install of all your applications. This might be enough to dissuade most XP Users. Also, if you are still using Windows XP, there might be some parts of your computer that are unsupported in Windows 7.

* Get Windows 7 with a machine designed to run it

The best way to have a smooth transition to Windows 7 is to buy a machine that was designed for it. This would include machines available today with Windows 7 pre-installed, as well as recently purchased machines that came with a free upgrade to Windows 7.

If you are using Windows 7 already, or planning on upgrading your existing computer, I would love to hear and share your experiences with other TechnologyIQ readers. Leave them as comments here or send them to techiq@welchwrite.com.

Recently "Noted" Items from my reading

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:16:01 PDT

Remember Your Home WiFi Password

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:40:49 PDT

One call I get quite frequently from my clients is for help in remembering and/or discovering their WiFi passwords. Typically, they have a guest coming to town who wants to connect to their network, but since the password is stored in their computer, they don't remember it. I call this "speed dial syndrome", where you don't remember phone numbers anymore, because you always just select them from your address book.

So, as a way of addressing this problem, I have taken to carrying around my P-Touch labeler and putting the password right on the router. This seems to be an obvious place to look for password when someone asks. You could be a bit more discrete than my photo above and put the label on the bottom or back of the router, but you also need to be able to remember where it is. I have one client who put it in her rolodex, but doesn't typically remember that it is there.

Routers from the 2WIRE company help to solve this problem by labeling every router with its password. On the underside of the router you should see a 10 digit sequence in square brackets i.e. [1234567890] This is the default wireless password for your specific router.

Additionally, you should also place a sticker for the password for the router itself. This password is required to change the settings of your router. The password should be changed from its default when it is installed, as there are a few exploits which can take advantage of routers with default passwords. Of course, since you use this password so infrequently, most people have no idea what it is.

There is one final fallback you can use, too. If you can't remember your password at all, most routers allow you to reset them back to their factory settings, including default passwords so that you can login and modify the settings back to the way you wish.

Do you have questions about your network, your router, your software? Leave them as comments here on the blog or send them along to techiq@welchwrite.com. I'll be glad to answer them.

Wii now available at reduced price

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:24:10 PDT

We really enjoy our Wii game system, especially the Lego series of games including Lego Batman, Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones. The Wii has recently dropped in price to $199, from its typical $250, which makes it even more inticing.

You can find links to all these games and more in the Welchwrite Bookstore.

Coffee-related iPhone Wallpapers from Rohde Design

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:31:38 PDT

Latte (320x480 Wallpaper)
Originally uploaded by Mike Rohde

I went looking for some new wallpapers for my iPhone and came across this collection by artist and online friend, Mike Rohde. Most of you know I am really into coffee, so I love this collection highlighting all the different styles of coffee in Mike's Unique style. These images were originally part of the 2008 Sketchtoon Coffee Calendar.

Mike is also getting a lot of buzz over his "Sketchtoon" note- taking at a variety of conferences including SXSW. He recently released an iPhone app containing his Sketchtoons for SXSW in an easy-to-use "stack of images. Free Download from iTunes App Store

Mac Users: Please, please, please set up Time Machine!

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:22:33 PDT

I ran into the librarian at my son's school yesterday and saw that she had a new Mac. Her old one had died unceremoniously, but the administration had the budget to replace it quickly. One thing I noticed, though, is that she had not yet setup Time Machine on the new iMac.

Mac users, there is no reason NOT to set up Time Machine on your Macintosh. This feature, added with Mac OS 10.5 backs up your entire Mac -- data, applications, settings -- and then updates any changed files on an hourly basis. All it takes a an external hard drive (I usually recommend on about 250GB in size). Theses drives are on sale all the time for prices around $50. This is a great investment to give you substantial peace of mind about your Mac.

While Apple touts the ability to easily restore deleted or damaged files using Time Machine, my use of the software has almost always been to restore a Mac that has crashed or build a new Mac that looks exactly like and old Mac -- including email, settings, desktop pattern, printer, everything!

I had a client who happened to get a lemon iMac. The unit died after 2 weeks, but we had set up time Machine from the very beginning. It had taken several hours to move data from her Windows machine and set the Mac up the way she wanted it and all that would have been lost if we didn't have a Time Machine backup. Instead, we were able to plug her backup drive into the new Mac, select "Restore from Time Machine Backup" during the setup and about 15 minutes later she was working again -- with all her original settings.

I recently had to replace my Time Machine backup drive, as I was using an older, leftover drive I had lying around the office. I found this Seagate FreeAgent Go drive (250GB) on sale at a local retailer. I like it, as it is small, quiet and requires no external power cable. It is powered directly from USb port of the computer.

Mac Users -- if you haven't set up Time Machine on your mac -- DO IT TODAY! You have nothing to lose and everything to gain -- including peace of mind.

Elsewhere Online: $50 Refurbed iPhone 3G 8GB Is Back [Dealzmodo]

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:15:00 PDT

Now you can get a refurbished version of my iPhone for 1/4 of price I paid only a year ago. Picking up an iPhone 3G 8GB for $50 certainly lightens the load of the $30 monthly data plan. As the article mentions, this price is cheaper than you would pay for some of the more typical, "dumb" phones on the market.

$50 Refurbed iPhone 3G 8GB Is Back [Dealzmodo]
from Gizmodo by matt buchanan
I guess AT&T found a spare closet filled with refurbished 8GB iPhone 3Gs (that's a little 's'), because they've got a fresh stock they're selling for $50. That's cheaper than a lot of dumbphones. Check the stock here. [AT&T ]

Elsewhere Online: Rumor: New, Thinner iMacs Rolling Off Factory Lines, With Mystery Features and Maybe Blu-ray [Rumor]

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:37:05 PDT

If you are thinking about buying a new iMac, you may want to wait a couple of weeks. The rumor mills are running and it looks like we might see new units as soon as October.

Rumor: New, Thinner iMacs Rolling Off Factory Lines, With Mystery Features and Maybe Blu-ray [Rumor]: "
New iMacs aren't just coming soon, they've been rolling out for two weeks, according to AppleInsider. They're thinner and look more like the LED Cinema Display, with mystery features that make them the 'most versatile ever.'
Read the entire article

Elsewhere Online: CustomGuide Provides Quick-Reference Sheets for Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe Products [Reference]

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:14:41 PDT

Looking for a little extra help with your software? These free quick reference forms, in PDF format, could be great have next to your computer. The PDFs are easy to reference on your computer, or you can print them out and keep them in front of you all the time. I am going to go over several of them to refresh my knowledge on some of those programs I don't use very often.

CustomGuide Provides Quick-Reference Sheets for Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe Products [Reference]: "
Learning a new application? Have a cube-mate that pesters you with questions about an application they're learning? Print off a cheat sheet from CustomGuide.

CustomGuide has guides for popular Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe software. Most entries have both present and past versions of the application in question. The entry for Outlook, for instance, has quick-reference sheets for Outlook 98 through Outlook 2007.

Each guide includes a diagram of the main interface, keyboard shortcuts, summaries of the menus and the tools found in them, and other relevant tips for using the application more efficiently.

Know of a good resource for software guides and cheat sheets? Let's hear about it in the comments. The guides are free and in PDF format.

CustomGuide Quick-Reference Sheets [via MakeUseOf]

Noted: TED Talks iPhone Application

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:59:49 PDT

I listen to a lot of the TED Talks as podcasts, so it is great to see an iPhone app to help even more people discover the great information delivered at each TED Conference. I will be downloading this app ASAP -- Douglas

TED Talks iPhone Application: "

The quarter-century old nonprofit TED—Technology, Education and Design—just made their mission of spreading innovative ideas easier with their iPhone application. Aggregating the latest audio and video from the TED talks and conferences, the search function sorts through the hundreds of speakers and a bookmarking feature marks favorites.
The TED app is free, compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch and available from iTunes.

LA Street Traffic in Google Maps

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:08:16 PDT

Update August 25, 2009: According to the Google Maps group, street traffic has been turned on today. I noticed it early this morning, when I brought up Google Maps on my iPhone. While I had seen some information on state routes over the last several months, this update adds a host of larger streets throughout the area, at least here in LA.

Update: It looks like this was only a test on Google's part. I hope they move to launch it as soon as possible, though, as it will be amazingly helpful in navigating around the city

How did I miss this? Has this feature been available for a while?

If you look at this screen grab, you will notice that Google Maps traffic now shows surface street traffic, not just the freeways. I used to have to go to the LA City Traffic Info page to get this amount of detail.

Unfortunately, the iPhone Maps application doesn't show this data yet. This would be so cool and so useful to have in the palm of your hand when driving about the city, like I do.

Noted: Stellarium Turns Your Computer Screen into a Planetarium [Downloads]

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:14:57 PDT

Stellarium Turns Your Computer Screen into a Planetarium [Downloads]: "

Windows/Mac/Linux: Whether you're a die-hard astronomy buff or someone who'd just like an idea of what constellations are where, Stellarium is a fantastic tool for viewing the night sky from the comfort of your home.

Google Calendar adds "Lab" features

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:35:17 PDT

Google has added some "Labs" features to Google Calendar today. I think one of the neatest features is the "Time to next event". Interesting bit of info to have in front of you all the time. The World Clock is also useful when planning online events.

Introducing Google Calendar Labs (David Marmaros/The Google Apps Blog) from Techmeme

David Marmaros / The Google Apps Blog:
Introducing Google Calendar Labs — It's hard to believe it's been more than three years since we introduced Google Calendar to the world. (It's true, I just checked my calendar.) In that time we've received countless ideas and suggestions, including many from my fellow Googlers …

Audio: Douglas talks Wordpress with Small Business Hosting podcast

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:32:04 PDT

SBHosting.com posted an interview I did last week talking about the uses and differences between Wordpress.com's hosted blogs and the Wordpress software available from Wordpress.org.

Listen to the entire interview (30 Mins)

Wordpress.org Vs Wordpress.com With Douglas Welch
On this episode I talk with Douglas Welch about the differences between Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org and when you might want to use WordPress.org vs Wordpress.com. Wordpress.com is hosted and managed by automattic (the company behing wordpress). If you choose WordPress.com you don’t install or control the software. WordPress.org is the home of the open source wordpress software. [...]

Continue reading...

Portable Digital TVs for after the June 20 Digital Television switch-over

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:43:33 PDT

Speaking with my friend Michael today, He reminded me that the digital television switch over is going to occur on June 20, 2009 and many older televisions will stop receiving "over-the-air" television signals.

Anyone who is getting their television signals over cable, AT&T uVerse, Satellite and other methods will still be able to watch their shows. It only effects television delivered via an antenna.

I know from my travels that very few of my clients are in danger of losing their television service, but I have always had another concern about this switchover. Throughout the years, we have always been reminded to have a battery operated radio or television in case of weather, or in California, earthquake, emergency.

Unfortunately, all of the small televisions we have around our house will not receive any signal after June 20. I hadn't seen any prominent advertising for newer, portable TVs so I finally decided to go looking for them.

Amazon.com lists a number of portable digital TVs with ATSC tuners that will receive the new digital television signals. The smallest size seems to be 7", but there are 9" and 10" models available, too. Most operate on AC or DC current and some come with car adapters, too. Some offer rechargeable battery packs, although at least one said it could not be recharged through the car charger, so you would eventually have to use your car battery as a primary power source after a few hours.

Here are the features to look for when purchasing a new portable digital TV:

ATSC digital tuner
Battery powered (Rechargeable or traditional)
Runs off 120V house power
Runs off 12V car power with adapter

Link: Amazon.com: Portable Digital TVs

Gmail now assists in migrating from other email systems

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:45:07 PDT

I so wish Google had had this available when I was forced to hand migrate a client's email contacts from AOL to their new Gmail account. It was painful, to say the least, and horribly time consuming. I haven't yet tried this new migration with someone, but I have some candidates I am going to approach so I can use them as a test.

If you are still using AOL, do yourself a favor and check out Gmail. I have moved all my email over to my Gmail address and can now easily access it on my own computers, friends computers, my iPhone and pretty much anywhere I have an Internet connection.

Gmail Makes Email Switching Easier

By Kevin Purdy, 5:30 AM on Thu May 14 2009, 12,921 views

Been looking to move a friend or relative to Gmail, but they complain the move from AOL, Hotmail, or their ISP email would be painful? Let 'em know Gmail now offers an easy switching tool.

Read the entire article

The Fine Art of Troubleshooting Anything from BarCampLA-7

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 05 May 2009 07:20:47 PDT

This talk was presented as part of BarCampLA-7 on May 2, 2009

iPod Ready Video

Noted: Free, Friendly, Fabulous: Scarygirl (Game)

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:16:51 PDT

"Noted" items are interesting posts I found in my daily reading. -- Douglas

Free, Friendly, Fabulous: Scarygirl
from Rock, Paper, Shotgun by Jim Rossignol
Browser-based, hook-handed platformer Scarygirl has been released (and is currently being crushed by the weight of internet traffic). It turns out to be a highly accomplished, preposterously beautiful little game: it’s a kind of perfect collision between the best children’s books and cream of 16-bit era platform puzzlers. The puzzles are splendidly intricate, it’s full of weird little details and flourishes, and the artwork - by master illustrator Nathan Jurevicius - is simply magnificently colourful and charming throughout. Clearly you must stop reading my blather and go play it without further ado.

A Qik.com demo at LA Friday Coffee

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:23:54 PDT

I showed the LA Friday Coffee folks how they can use Qik.com to stream video from their iPhones.

Ted Talk: David Merrill demos Siftables

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:34:24 PDT

A Ted Talks demonstration of some amazing technology.

MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables -- cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?

Watch at full size

Video: Arduino + Chumby = Fun! with Brian O'Connor

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:25:04 PDT

Brian O'Connor presents at DorkBot SoCal on March 8, 2009. His project combines a homemade moisture sensor, Arduino computer and the Chumby to monitor the health of his plants. Hardware and programming details are included.

iPod Ready Video

Event: Dorkbot Socal #34 - March 8, 2009

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:54:58 PST

Image via Wikipedia

Oh man, I am so going to make it to this Dorkbot SoCal meeting, The 3 speakers all look amazing. This is going to be a great meeting. Join me!

Dorkbot SoCal #34

Sunday, March 8, 2009
1:00pm [warning: first day daylight savings time!]
Machine Project
1200 D North Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Dorkbot SoCal speakers include Dan Goods, Visual Strategist at JPL, where he develops creative ways of communicating science. He recently has done artwork with aerogel and is on a team to develop a 108-foot long data driven sculpture at the San Jose airport.

Mindshare Labs' Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell will present ArtFall: a dynamic physical simulation by drawing on a whiteboard.

Brian O'Connor will show how to connect an Arduino to the Chumby and develop a simple application that monitors the environment.

More info: http://www.dorkbot.org/dorkbotsocal

Elsewhere Online: Epiphany Recorder for iPhone Captures Past Conversations

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:04:24 PST

Image by Liutao via Flickr

I have often wished for a recorder like this, perhaps even integrating photos or video so I could become better at remembering names. Still, I can see some possibilities for this. The trick will be to figure out how to integrate it into my life and work. I still have to start the recorder when I begin a talk or meeting. This could be interesting.

Epiphany Recorder for iPhone Captures Past Conversations
from jkOnTheRun by Kevin C. Tofel
Last night, I gave Epiphany Recorder a spin on my iPhone. The application, which is free (for now) in the iTunes App Store, is at its core level a voice recorder. When you dig a little deeper, however, you’ll see a fairly unique feature in the way it records the past. Sorta.

When you fire up Epiphany, it begins recording right away. That’s a similar function to the DVR in my home: While I’m watching the television, the DVR is recording up to an hour of content automatically. This enables the features to “go back in time” by rewinding what was live programming. Epiphany does the same, but for audio.
Read the entire article

Links for 2009-02-05 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:00:00 PST

Yuuguu - The free remote desktop and screen sharing tool

New Flickr Desktop Uoloaders

techiq@welchwrite.com (Douglas E. Welch) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:36:42 PST

Flickr.com announced new versions of their desktop uploading software for Windows and Mac. I am glad to see this, as the current versions were a bit flaky under Mac OS X 10.5. I have just installed and am testing them out now on both my Vista laptop and Intel-based Mac Mini.

Upload from your desktop — more better!
from FlickrBlog by Josh Nguyen
Since our last main release, we wanted to provide a better uploading experience — more stable, more accepting of different file formats and more capable to handle heftier uploading needs. We’ve worked hard on the new Uploadr version 3.1.3 to process batch uploads and different types of files, including video, better. As always, you can use the Uploadr to sort, edit and organize your images before presenting them on Flickr.

We’ll continue to improve on the Uploadr experience. For now, we hope that Uploadr 3.1.3 will help get your images on to Flickr faster and easier. As always, please feel free to share any issues in this Help Forum topic. Tally-ho.

Links for 2009-01-09 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST

System Security or SystemSecurity :: System Security Removal Instructions
System Security Description and Removal Instructions. Find and Detect System Security on your PC. Remove, Uninstall and Get Rid of System Security.

Links for 2008-08-15 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Links for 2008-07-31 [del.icio.us]

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Vista tuning guide available from Microsoft

Links for 2008-07-30 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Google Calendar: How to Sync Any Desktop Calendar with Google Calendar
https://www.google.com/calendar/dav/

Links for 2008-07-13 [del.icio.us]

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT

Belkin unveils the GoStudio iPod recording dock - Engadget

Links for 2008-07-12 [del.icio.us]

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT

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