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!
Windows? Mac? Chrome? What’s the right fit for me? (4/27/19 Part 1)
Would you wear a pair of high heels for a hike in ‘Iao Valley? Or go ballroom dancing in steel-toe construction shoes? Ever saw someone tap-dance wearing diving fins? Which Fits? – Part 1 Even if its the best of what they are, the wrong shoes are simply the wrong shoes. Computers are no different, believe it or not! Today we’re talking about Windows, Macs, Chromebooks plus tablets and phones! What do you need? Well, sit right down, and let us listen! Oh, and if you’ve not seen Avengers Endgame yet? You might want to read this article by PC Magazine on how to limit spoilers! https://www.pcmag.com/news/368011/how-to-avoid-spoilers-online
Picking out your perfect match! No, not for dating… (4/27/19 Part 2)
Its love at first sight. Smart, beautiful,and right there looking back at you. Do you make the move? Which Fits? – Part 2 Okay, okay, so maybe buying a new computing device isn’t quite a romantic comedy. But like signing up for a dating site, there’s some questions you should ask yourself about your perfect match! And we get into that. Windows? Mac? Chromebook? Tablet or Smartphone?
Computers 101: What’s inside your computer? (3/16/19 Part 1)
What Makes It Go 101 In this 101, we talk about the parts of your computer and what you do. More an overview than an in-depth discussion, its meant to help you know what the parts are so when you see them listed on the box you know what they are, what they do, and gives you a starting point for further questions!
Email 102: How do you get to it? (3/16/19 Part 2)
Email! We talked about it, the different types, and more but now we need to talk about the options for accessing it. You can choose from using a web interfaces or a client or use both! What are the pros and cons of them? We talk about that! Email – 102 Outlook (as part of Office 365) Mozilla Thunderbird Mac Mail
Updates! Keep’em Running! (3/9/19 Part 2)
When you’ve got a car, be it brand new, used, or a hand-me-down, one of the first things you learn about is the humble oil change. Later, its new tires. Brakes. There’s a bit of upkeep to keeping your car running! Computers 101 – Updating! Your computer and devices are the same. The operating system plus programs and even hardware get updates from time to time. Some are fixing problems, some improve performance, others add features. But, how do you do it?
Office, Office, and Office! (2/2/19 Part 1)
Office productivity software is a staple for businesses, schools, non-profits, and many households. Word processors, spreadsheets, even presentation software! Which Office? What’s out there? Well, we look into Microsoft Office/Office 365, LibreOffice, and GoogleDocs/GSuite for Business, talking about them and asking, “what about you?”
2018 Predictions: How’d we do? (12/29/18 Part 2)
We continue our mad parade of seeing how good our psychic powers of prognostication are! Predictions we made and covered this hour: 2018 Scorecard – Part 2 AI will be the complete and total fad of 2018 but nothing will pass the Turing Test. Cryptocurrency theft and mining zombies will be this year’s flavor of malware. A caller prediction! Alexa voice files will be hacked, and people will start getting very rude responses. One of the big password managers will get hacked and have to admit it publicly. SSDs will replace conventional hard-drives by the end of the year. One of the top companies (IBM, Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc) will report a major data breech. Maybe not in a timely matter, but they’ll report it. Crypto-currency will have a major correction, but there’s so much money it’ll continue. 1st year that energy costs will be a big concern. AMD and Intel’s partnership for CPU/GPU on laptops will be a big hit, but won’t be in anything except Macbook Pros so far as Apple is concerned. There will be no fully autonomous cars on the road this year. Apple will indeed start trying to make easier to develop iOS and MacOS apps, just like Microsoft has been and Ubuntu wanted to. Virtual reality will continue to improve, sell, but will not have explosive growth. 10-15% growth maybe?
Q&A Second Story is OPEN! (11/3/18 Part 1)
Your skill are one of your biggest assets! And, thanks to the wonders of your brain, you can learn new things, new skills, update things and more! Some people can learn great on their own, but some folks really benefit from time with a teacher. Welcome to Maui Computer Learning with Ben! Q&A now has Q&A Second Story! Its a classroom where you can learn more about a variety of subjects with one of the best teachers on Maui! Got a business or a non-profit? You can invest in your greatest asset: your people! https://www.inc.com/chad-halvorson/5-reasons-you-should-be-investing-in-employee-development.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/01/29/why-development-planning-is-important-neglected-and-can-cost-you-young-talent/#5c9bf9d56f63 https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-10-reasons-keep-learning-all-time-deb-calvert https://www.inc.com/aj-agrawal/4-reasons-why-we-should-never-stop-learning.html