Our friends at OfficeMax/Office Depot in Kahului have given us a family sized prize for our next drawing! Protecting your PC! Why is this relevant? Why, we’re talking about backups and protecting your computing devices!
Books have Chrome! Chrome of Books! (9/14/19 Part 1)
Today we talked about Chromebooks! They’ve come a long way over the past few years. Tune in as we talk about: Is the ChromeBook for me? Chromebooks pros: Websurfing and webapps! Android apps! Chromebooks can run Android apps now! Relatively inexpensive for modest machines, although better machines in terms of build quality and specs are available (even up to $999!) for serious/professional users. Chromebook cons: You can’t buy and download big, full-professional programs like Adobe Creative Cloud, Final Cut Pro, FULL Microsoft Office, etc. You’re stuck with web apps or Android apps. You can’t buy and download Windows or Mac games. You’re stuck with web games and Android games. Chromebooks generally do best with wifi or an internet connection. Without internet access you lose access to a lot of functionality. Things to consider Design. Is it a laptop or a convertable/2-in-1? Touchscreen? How well is it made? Stylus support? What sort of ports? USB? HDMI? How much RAM? 4g is minimum recommended for light use. 8g or more for heavier use, demanding Android apps/games, etc. 16g is going to be overkill for most users. CPU. Many will have Celerons or similar low-end CPUs which is okay for casual browsing and light use (Celerons, ARM, m3’s), but the nicer ones can have i3, i5, and i7 CPUs. Storage! 32g is probably a safe starting point, but if you want to keep files locally, download Android apps, etc., consider 64gb to 128g. If you plan to do photo editing or video editing then look for more. Budget. Be …
Moving on from Windows 7… (9/14/19 Part 2)
Windows 7 is expiring in January 2020. Are you ready to move on? Should you move on? How do you move on? Movin’ on up! Well, thanks to a listener’s suggestion, that’s what we’re talking about today!
Can you hear me? Can you hear me now? (8/17/19 Part 1)
Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Hey Google are all great voice assistants. This is a good thing, and a very useful feature of modern computers, smartphone, and more! However, your voice doesn’t stop with you. It goes from your device to the internet and onto a cloud server somewhere “out there,” only to return back with instructions the device understands and executes. Listening Up! Oh, and sometimes people listen. Computers can’t figure us humans out entirely. How to stop Alexa, Siri, and Google: https://slate.com/technology/2019/08/how-to-stop-alexa-google-siri-recording-human-review.html (thanks Alert Internet Surfer Perry!) How to stop Cortana: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-configure-windows-10-to-protect-your-privacy-1716204024
Scams Scams Scams Scams… (8/10/19 Part 2)
So, we’re getting more scams again, so its time to update! Always Another Scam We’ll give you a quick overview of scams coming via: email text voicemail social media phone The bad guys don’t rest! So learn to defend yourself!
Do you leave your house key under the mat? (7/27/19 Part 2)
So, your local police department want help catching the bad guys. You want to help, right? But, to do so, they insist that you always leave your house key under a door mat so they can always have access to your house “when they need it.” They promise they won’t tell anyone about the key, and promise nobody will ever abuse it. Back Doors, and Why They are Bad Sounds great, right? Law enforcement has been asking for weaker encryption and “back doors” in encryption for decades. They insist it’s only to get “the bad guys,” won’t get abused, and doesn’t really pose a risk to the public. Bologna, you say? We agree. Join us as we talk about that! https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614003/trumps-justice-department-calls-for-encryption-backdoor-law/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/fbi-weaker-encryption-is-a-worthwhile-tradeoff-for-law-enforcement-access-to-data/458622/ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/05/caleatwo This podcast is brought to you by Audible!
But do you own it? DRM and you 101 (7/13/19 Part 1)
When you buy something digitally, do you actually own it? Are you sure about that? Do You Own It? Wouldn’t it be a shame if it went up in a puff of smoke? Many digital things you buy can get Digital Rights Management (DRM), be it eBooks, music, software/apps, movies and more. While its understandable for renting or borrowing, what about something you’re buying? We talk about this and offer our thoughts on the matter! https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/ultraviolet-is-shutting-down/ https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k3wkk/microsoft-ebooks-will-stop-working-because-its-shutting-down-a-drm-server https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/12/cant-stream-that-christmas-movie-you-bought-on-amazon-blame-disney/ https://io9.gizmodo.com/amazon-secretly-removes-1984-from-the-kindle-5317703
R.I.P. Windows 7? (7/6/19 Part 1)
Windows 7 will be passing away in January 2020. Sort of. In a meaningful way it is indeed reaching its end of life, but… uhm… yeah. Its simple and complicated and… The End of Windows 7? – Part 1 Don’t worry! It won’t suddenly stop working on you! But what does it mean? Jonathan, LD, and Sam explore that for you!
What’s the cost of moving to Windows 10? (7/6/19 Part 2)
So, what do you need to consider when looking at Windows 10? Will all your hardware work? All your software? How much does this cost anyhow? Will it cost a fortune? The End of Windows 7? – Part 2 Jonathan, LD, and Sam talk about this and take your calls!
You’ve got audio: now what? (6/22/19 Part 2)
Are you make planning to make music using a home studio? Want to start a podcast? Narrate an audio book? All things Audio – Part 2 What to do now? Got music you made and want to sell? https://www.wikihow.com/Sell-Music-Online How to start a podcast! https://lifehacker.com/how-to-start-your-own-podcast-1709798447 Got the narration bug, and recorded an audiobook? https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G201014330