A lot happens after you push a power button, even before you see the “splash screen.” Electronic devices—computers, tablets, phones, PDA’s (remember them?), even appliances, go through a Power On Self Test, or POST. In basic terms, it is exactly what it sounds like. As the current is applied to the system board, the most…
Sometimes you need to get inside your computer to check things out or to get rid of some dust, to keep the airflow clean. Whether it’s a laptop or a desktop, this shouldn’t scare you. Newer desktop computers are being built with easy-release mechanisms to allow you to take at least one side off….
First, what is “Net Neutrality?” Net neutrality is the concept that all internet traffic should be treated equally. “Treated equally” would indicate that traffic would travel at its rate of speed regardless of non-technical implications. To better understand net neutrality, let me give you an example if what is not net neutrality. You have as…
If you know me—at all—you know that I use a lot of different forms of technology, from different providers. This gives me the foundation to be able to tell you authoritatively that it is not just Microsoft that keeps changing stuff. Let’s start by saying that, although a horse and buggy is an adequate…
The only completely certain way to keep your kids safe online is to keep your kids offline. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get real. The internet is a wonderful tool that can provide access to the universe. It can open doors to education and entertainment. And let’s remember that not…
Everything has a cost of some type. That’s basic economics. It’s not always a monetary cost; sometimes it’s a price paid in effort, and sometimes it’s an “opportunity cost,” which means that as a result of choosing one thing you can’t take full advantage of another opportunity. An example of that would be in how…
I want you to feel comfortable and confident in dealing with a lot of your computer conditions. But there is a point when you should NOT try to do it yourself. That point is where you don’t feel comfortable, and when there is too much to lose. Most computer problems that people have are…
I don’t know that I would ever bet against Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. He’s had more hits (Amazon Web Services, Prime services, the Kindle line) than misses (Kozmo dot com, askville dot com, LivingSocial), and even if the misses were BIG misses, the hits were BIG, BIG hits. That said, I’m not sure I’m…
This is a subject that is difficult to get information on that isn’t heavily biased in one direction or the other. I’m going to do my best to present baseline facts and leave it to you to form your own opinion, but I will also try to present the viewpoints of both sides. When we…
I got a bit scatterbrained and confused toward the end of 2013, and as a result I did not get this domain and blog transferred before I terminated my service with 1&1. Oops–lesson learned: make a list and follow the steps–in order! As you can see, I finally got everything moved and activated. It is…
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