Today we talked about some of the issues we face every day as professional IT consultants.

One of our mutual friends had a laptop problem. Well, a family member spilled something on her open laptop and fired the motherboard — literally! A new motherboard off of ebay fixed that problem for just over $100. Don’t throw away those laptops just because you think they’ll be too expensive to fix. Often times they can be repaired for little money.

Harold had a surprise when he left his BitTorrent running. That program can get out of hand if you don’t watch it. Be careful when you use peer-to-peer type sharing tools.

Let us know what you want to know. Email us! Let us know how you think we’re doing and what you’d like to hear about. We want to talk about the computer stuff you’re interested in!

We’re on iTunes now! Check us out and subscribe to the podcast.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to write!

Mike Squires
Host – Computer 101 960am, KIMP

 

 Fixin' some stuff [24:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted: March 25th, 2008 under After Show.
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Thanks for listening to the show today. As you know we talked about Google. (I like to call it “The Google” as a show of solidarity with our President).

We pomised to tell you how to get there. Just go to www.google.com.

If you want Harold to send you an invite to Google’s email service, send us an email.

Harold says he’s going to post something about Google for us later, so check back and see what he’s got up his sleeve. Probably something technical. But probably cool, too.

Some of the fun apps you can find on Google are:
Sketchup
Picasa
Google Earth
Google Maps (if you’re not using this, you’re missing out! That’s my house!)

Google is my number one visited site. I use it for searching mostly, but the maps are great, too. The above applications are some of the best “freeware” you can find.

Let us know what you want to know. Email us! Let us know how you think we’re doing and what you’d like to hear about. We want to talk about the computer stuff you’re interested in!

We’re on iTunes now! Check us out and subscribe to the podcast.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to write!

Mike Squires
Host – Computer 101 960am, KIMP

 

 The Google [24:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted: March 17th, 2008 under After Show.
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Today we talked about wireless networking, in general. There are many aspects to networking, and unless you understand general networking, wireless networking can really be a bear.

Harold and I pretty much agree that you should only use wireless when you absolutely cannot use a cable. This doesn’t always pertain to things like keyboard and mice; we’re talking mainly about networking here.

If you are going to use a wireless network don’t forget a couple of security measure that are easy to employ and really make a difference:
1) hide the SSID (or disable SSID). This keeps most people from being able to discover your network accidentally and gaining access. Remember, anyone that can use your wireless network can see your computers on your network, even the ones that are using an ethernet cable.

2) use a good encryption mechanism. We recommend WPA-PSK (TKIP). This is considered better than the prevelant WEP (Wire Equivalant Protocol). Most newer wireless systems have WPA available.

I pretty much always use the Linksys WRT54G(S). The ‘S’ is for Speedbooster, which is a Linksys thing. As I understand it, it only boosts speed with other Linksys Speedbooster products. This is a cool router that works pretty well out of the box. Try configuring it without using the software included. Just hook your computer up to it and go to (http://192.168.1.1) in your web browser. If you’re really adventurous, you can check out the other versions of firmware that let you tweak the router to do neat things.

We both frown on wireless printing. When it works, it’s very nice. When it doesn’t, troubleshooting can be problematic. It’s hard enough to diagnose some wireless problems when you have a computer that can tell you what’s wrong. Other wireless devices don’t tell you so much.

This episode wasn’t to turn everyone against wireless networking. We just want to make sure you know that there are some pitfalls and we want your expectations to be set properly.

That said, both Harold and I employ wireless networking on our home networks at some level. I use it for my laptop, my Playstation 3, and my iPhone. Harold uses it for his laptops.

We wanna know what you wanna know. Email us at computer101@easttexasdailynews.com. We’ll get to your question on the air!

We’re available as a podcast on iTunes. Check out the shows you missed.

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to write!

Mike Squires
Host – Computer 101 960am, KIMP

 

 Wireless [24:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted: March 12th, 2008 under After Show.
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Today we talked about printers. What type of printer should you get? Are the free ones that come with a new computer any good ? (answer: sometimes)

There are many different types of inkjet printers. One of the pertinent questions you can ask is how many cartridges does it take to run it? I like the ones with different color cartridges per color; I think Harold comes down on the side of one cartridge for black, one cartridge for color. To each his own.

Personally, I use an HP LaserJet 2100 at home for almost all my printing. I’ve had it for almost eight years (maybe longer) and I’m still on the first toner cartridge. I just did a page count on it and I’m at 2752 pages with one cartridge. That’s some good value, in my opinion. And it’s networked!

We’re both, of course, againast using a wireless printer if you can avoid it. Really you should only use wireless technology if you have to. Use a wire if you can. Wireless devices can be hard enough to troubleshoot, but when it’s a printer, it won’t usually tell you what’s wrong. You have to be psychic!

Don’t forget to find us on iTunes.

Let us know what you want us to talk about and what we need to spend more time on. We’re here for you! Send me an email at computer101@easttexasdailynews.com

Thanks for listening and don’t forget to write!

Mike Squires
Host – Computer 101 960am, KIMP

 

 Printers! [24:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted: March 5th, 2008 under After Show.
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