Q: What is the difference in all the wireless formats (802.11 b, a, g, n)?
A: For the most part, if you are interested in wireless networking for Internet access, it doesn’t matter much which implementation you go with, as they are all faster than any Internet access commonly available. However, if you are interested in wireless networking to share files across a local network, then the latest “n” standards may be of interest to you.
The 802.11 standard defines the types of wireless networks we are commonly familiar with today. The original standard (802.11 without a letter behind it) was not commonly used in the mainstream. Released in 1997, it topped out at 2 Mbps/Sec.
802.11b was the first mainstream wireless network implementation, defined in 1999. It uses the 2.4 GHz frequency range and runs at 11 Mbps/sec. 802.11b eventually was termed “Wi-Fi” by the then newly created Wi-Fi Alliance.
Released in 2003, 802.11g was the next implementation in the 2.4 GHz frequency range, supporting 54 Mbps/sec. It is also backward compatible with 802.11b. Some proprietary implementations of 802.11g can support speeds of 108 or 125 Mbps/sec. The Wi-Fi Alliance updated the “Wi-Fi” term to include a letter indicating which standard is being referred to (i.e. Wi-Fi b or Wi-Fi g).
802.11n is the next in the line of 2.4 GHz family. Currently, the “n” standard is not yet ratified, but there are already products available that use the proposed standard. These are called “draft n” or “pre-n” products. 802.11n will support speeds of up to 200 Mbps/sec, and will be backwards compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g.
Some of you may be wondering, “what about 802.11a?” Others are probably asking, “there’s an 802.11a?” In 1999, 802.11a was an extension to the original 802.11 standard that uses the 5.8 GHz frequency range. It supports 54 Mbps/sec, but since it does not use the 2.4 GHz frequency, it is not compatible with the 802.11b/g/n standards. As the letter sequence indicates, 802.11a was actually created before 802.11b. However, 802.11b was first to mainstream market. Due to the explosive popularity of 802.11b, the fact that 802.11a was not backwards compatible with 802.11b hindered its acceptance.
For more help with networking, wireless or not, feel free to contact Marcel.
The BSA is out to get you!
The Business Software Alliance (http://www.bsa.org), an organization made up of large software developers, has started publicizing up to $200,000 rewards for employees who turn in their companies for using pirated software. While I’m all for the legal and proper use of software, this latest initiative from the BSA should be of concern to all companies, whether they use pirated software or not.
The problem is that one allegation, if the BSA chooses to pursue it, requires a company to prove they are not pirating, even if they have legally purchased all their software. This can result in a lot of work for a company, as they scramble to look up software receipts, license codes, and CD keys. Additionally, the BSA may request they do an on-side audit, wasting even more of a company’s time and productivity. If a company can’t prove they aren’t pirating software, they face costly settlements, usually requiring the repurchasing of missing software licenses. This is the case even if the company simply couldn’t find the proper documentation, or if employees were the ones who brought in improperly licensed software.
Usually, the BSA likes to go after large companies. But they have been known to go after smaller companies, so don’t think you are safe if you have a small business. In order to protect themselves, companies must be diligent about keeping good records regarding their software purchases. They also must have policies and practices in place that disallow the installation of non-company purchased software by employees. However, these things have a cost as well, both in time and money. The larger the company, the more expensive software licensing compliance becomes.
One thing companies can do to eliminate the hassle and expense of software licensing compliance is to use open source software. Open source software is not owned by any particular company and is usually licensed freely. Since the software is free, there is no need to keep track of licenses or the risk of being audited by the “software police”.
There are not always open source options for every software in every business. However, there is a very good open source option for Microsoft Office. OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org) is an open source “office suite”, including a word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software, analogous to Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Unlike many other competitors to Microsoft Office, OpenOffice reads and writes the Microsoft Office formats with nearly 100% compatibility. Without going into too many more details about OpenOffice, it is suffice to say that many companies can save a lot of money by using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, not just in initial purchase price and the ongoing costs of upgrades, but also in the cost of staying in license compliance.
If you would like more help with software licensing, or are interested in saving money by using open source technologies, please contact Marcel.
Fix for Eject button on Network icon in Sidebar (Mac OS X)
I love my shiny new MacBook Pro. However, until just a few mintues ago, one thing was annoying me. If I would try to choose Network from the Go menu in the Finder, nothing would happen. Upon further investigation, I also noticed that the Network icon in the sidebar had an eject button attached to it. I knew this was not supposed to be the case (how can you “eject” the “network”?). I recalled that I had this problem a few years ago on my G4 desktop and that I had solved it after doing some Internet research. However, I could not remember how I solved it, so I went back to the Internet and tried to find the solution. After many searches over the course of a day, I could not find a solution – which is strange for me because I almost always find solutions to problems like this fairly quickly. However, I did find a few references to people having the same problem, so I knew I wasn’t crazy. Still, I was without a solution. Not that it was a really big problem, but I don’t like being annoyed – especially by a brand new Mac. Therefore, using my mystical technology powers, I divined a solution. OK, it was just a well-educated hunch, but still, maybe I do have mystical powers.
I downloaded, installed, and opened OnyX 1.8.0b1 (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20070). After letting OnyX verify my Startup Volume, I clicked on the Maintenance icon in the toolbar, then the tab labeled “Reset”, then checked the option for “Sidebar of Finder windows”. I clicked the Execute button, heeded the warning message, and clicked the Continue button. OnyX did it’s magic, restarted the Finder, and voila! problem solved.
I have posted this fix because I had such difficulty finding a solution myself, I thought I would help other users who might encounter this problem in the future (and just in case I forget again …)
For any Mac questions, feel free to contact Marcel Brown of Marcel Brown Technology Services.
Tech Toy of the Month: Digital Photo Frames
This isn’t really a specific tech toy, but rather a whole category that has started becoming popular lately. The idea is very simple. Basically, imagine a small LCD screen inside a photo frame. Instead of showing just one picture, the screen can cycle through an entire library of photos, making for a dynamic slideshow of sorts.
There are many models out on the market right now. The main differentiators are price and screen size. Obviously, the larger the screen size, the higher the price. On the low end, you can get 5″ screens and prices in the $50 range. On the higher end, you can get 8″ screens in the $200 range. There are also bigger and more expensive digital picture frames, but I’m limiting this article to the above mentioned price and size ranges. Basically, if you are interested in a digital picture frame, pay attention to a couple of features.
First, get a screen size that will be large enough to adequately display your pictures. 5″ screens I feel are too small for most purposes. One exception is displaying the pictures on your desk, as you will be fairly close to the frame so the small screen size shouldn’t be a problem. If you can find a good price, go for a 7 or 8″ screen. This screen size is usually big enough for display in a living room-type environment.
The second feature to pay attention to is the type of media cards the digital picture frame accepts. Most frames accept a large variety of media cards, but it is best to make sure. Ideally you can re-use your older media cards that don’t hold as much data. They are perfect for use in a digital picture frame. To make best use of smaller cards, you can export pictures from your photo organization software in a reduced resolution. Reduced resolution photos don’t take as much space, so you can fit a lot more photos on a card than you normally would. Just don’t reduce the photos below the resolution of your digital picture frame, or they won’t look good.
As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this, or other digital photography topics.
Q: Should I turn my computer off when I’m not using it?
A: This is one of the more common questions I get. I believe one of the reasons I get asked this so often is due to the common advice that says you should leave your computer on all the time because turning it on and off shortens its life. Other people wonder the opposite: will leaving my computer on all the time burn it out?
Another reason I get this question so often is because people are concerned about their energy usage (especially now that power rates have gone up significantly in Illinois). The underlying question is how much power does my computer use and can I save significantly by leaving it off when I’m not using it?
I’ll first say that modern computers are designed so that they can be turned on and off without any negative effects. So don’t worry if you like to turn off your computer when not using it. You’re not hurting it, no matter what the common myth says.
The reason a common myth like this survives is because there may have been an element of truth to it at one time. While I can’t find any definitive proof, some older computers (like from the 70’s or 80’s) may have been fragile enough that repeated power cycling (a few times a day) could have worn them enough to cause damage to the computer (or more likely the power supply or power switch).
Secondly, most modern computers can run 24/7 for years and years without problem. In fact, the computer I’m writing this on has run nearly 24/7 for about 8 years now (let’s hear it for the Macintosh!). The life expectancy of most of the parts of a computer (except, notably, the hard drive – see my article about hard drive transplants) is far beyond the time the computer would become obsolete. So if you like to leave your computer on all the time, you’re not really hurting it either.
But if you do leave it on all the time, are you wasting electricity? That depends on what you define by wasting. According to the “Mr. Electricity” web site, a typical desktop computer uses about 65 – 250 watts of electricity when on. That seems like a lot, and it can be. However, most computers are set to go to sleep after a period of time. Mr. Electricity says a sleeping computer uses 1 – 6 watts. So if your computer is asleep most of the time, it’s using some electricity, but not a lot. You may still think that a few watts is worth saving. However, keep in mind that most computers still draw some power even when off. Usually this is around 1 watt. So you’d need to unplug your computer to make it totally stop drawing power. It really all boils down to a matter of convenience vs. saving power.
My recommendation is to make sure your computer is set to sleep and don’t worry too much about it. You’re not hurting it by leaving it on, and the small amount of power you’d be saving by turning off your computer or unplugging it isn’t probably worth it. If you are really concerned about saving power, there are many other things in your home that use more energy.
Backing Up Your Data Simplified
Backing up your data is probably the most important thing you should do to maintain your computer. However, it is also one of the most misunderstood topics, and therefore, many people neglect to properly back up their data. In an effort to help people back up their data, I will summarize a very simple but effective backup routine.
Basically, instead of messing with media like CDs or DVDs, external hard drives are much simpler. They are relatively inexpensive and can hold many times more data than a CD, DVD, or most other removable media. Purchase an external hard drive that is bundled with backup software. Most backup software that are bundled with external hard drives are very simple to set up. Set up your software to automatically back up on a schedule, and you should be all set. Check your backup software’s logs every so often to ensure that the backups are running correctly.
For further data redundancy and peace of mind, buy 2 external hard drives. Periodically swap the drives and take one off site (for example, to a safety deposit box). This way, if your home or business suffers from a disaster such as fire or theft, you will have a backup in another location.
There are many brands of external hard drives. I feel more comfortable recommending well-known brands such as Seagate and Western Digital. However, any brand is better than having no backup at all.
If you already have an external hard drive, but no backup software, I recommend Retrospect Express HD (http://www.emcinsignia.com/products/homeandoffice/retroexpresshd). It only costs $50, is very simple to use, and you can download it immediately after ordering it on line. Even if your hard drive came with backup software, but it doesn’t backup on a schedule or you just aren’t satisfied with it, you can buy Retrospect Express HD.
The bottom line is that your data can be gone in the blink of an eye. Don’t put off backing up any longer. If you would like help setting up your backup, please feel free to contact me.
Tech Toy of the Month – Walletex Wallet Flash Drive
USB flash drives have become extremely popular in the last year or so. This is for good reason. With the demise of the floppy drive, there has been a need for simple, portable, and inexpensive data storage. USB flash drives fill this need quite nicely. Ladies who carry a purse can easily keep a flash drive with them at all times, but many of us guys tend to forget “extra” things, especially small things like a flash drive. About the only thing that many guys have with them at all times is their wallet. If you are this type of guy (or gal who doesn’t carry a purse), the Walletex Wallet Flash Drive is for you (http://www.walletex.com/gp.asp?gpid=2).
The idea is very simple. The Wallet Flash Drive is a flash drive like any other. The only real difference is that the shape of the drive is just like a credit card – with the addition of a USB connector. So this makes it very easy to keep in your wallet, which if you always have your wallet with you, you will always have your flash drive with you as well. Having a flash drive with you at all times may seem like an excess, but we live in a data-centric world and for many people, flash drives are becoming as important as pens and paper. Also, for example, in the not too distant future, people will have their entire medical history available to them in electronic format. Perhaps they will be able to carry this data in a device like this, to which having quick access by medical personnel could end up saving their lives.
Technology-wise, the Wallet Flash drives have a few nice features. First, the USB connector is double-sided, which means you can orient the drive “up” or “down”, which will allow it to fit into more connectors. Second, the drive is extremely durable, as most flash drives are, but this is very important to a device that will spend a lot of time in a very tight space, even perhaps taking a trip through the laundry. Finally, the drives come in many capacities to fit many budgets, and for comparison, the Wallet Flash Drives do not cost much more than regular USB flash drives. My only real concern is the durability of the USB connector. For such a slim device, I worry that the USB connector would be susceptible to snapping off. It seems like Walletex has built the device with strong, flexible plastic, so this probably won’t be an issue, but I thought I’d mention this concern to be fair.
Overall, this device is great because it can be many things to many people. Even if you don’t want one for yourself, I’m sure you can think of someone this would make a great gift for. Also, if you need a promotional item for your business, this could really get your company noticed. Along these lines, Walletex has also come out with an MP3 player in credit card format, which could be a very interesting product. If you are in the market for a USB flash drive, do check out the credit-card sized Wallet Flash Drive from Walletex – and I’ll refrain from making any bad jokes about trying to check out with it at the grocery store.
Q: Should I defragment my hard drive?
A: This is one of the more common questions I get (along with “should I turn my computer off at night?” – which I’ll talk about next time). Defragmenting a hard drive (also defrag or defragging), seems to be one of the more well-known and talked about computer maintenance tasks. The issue is whether defragging a hard drive is worth the effort. The answer may surprise you.
Basically, a defrag reorganizes the data on your hard drive so that files are more contiguous – meaning the data that makes up a file is grouped together more closely on the hard drive. In theory, this makes it quicker for a hard drive to retrieve data. This is because it can read related data all in the same area of a hard drive instead of needing to access data that is scattered. Sounds like a good idea, right? Well, it used to be a really good idea years ago. Nowadays, while a defrag technically does make your hard drive faster, the difference is usually too small to really notice.
When computers were slower, hard drives were also slower – and much smaller. Tweaking your hard drive to get every bit of speed out of it could save a fair amount of time. This was especially true if your hard drive was at or near full capacity. Hard drives become much more fragmented when they get full. So small and slow hard drives were a recipe for noticeably decreased performance. Defragging was a good idea.
In today’s age, computers are much faster and they come with faster and very large hard drives. Because hard drives are faster, the performance drag due to fragmented hard drives is proportionally smaller. Since hard drives are so much bigger, most people do not get anywhere near filling their drives up. Along with the fact that today’s operating systems are “smarter” about storing data on hard drives to limit fragmentation, severe fragmentation is rare anymore. Often, a defrag can take one or more hours to complete. So while defragmenting usually does no harm, the time and effort put into it will rarely pay for itself.
Note that I say “usually” a defrag does no harm. Defragging is a very intensive process to the hard drive. It can be enough to push a hard drive to fail if it was close to failing already. So while this isn’t meant to alarm you, you should make sure you have a good backup anytime you chose to defragment your hard drive. And if you have ANY suspicion that your hard drive may be failing (like hearing clicking sounds from your hard drive) especially if your drive or computer is over 3 years old, DO NOT defragment it.
Now this article may provoke disagreement from many other technical people. In some circles, defragging is like an old wives tale, passed on from generation to generation. Again, it used to be a good idea, but not anymore for most people today. Certainly there are many cases where a defrag can make sense. But those cases are usually reserved for high-performance environments such as servers and workstations, as well as “performance junkies” who want to tweak every bit of speed out of their systems. But those types of people aren’t the ones asking me for advice. So to wrap up, feel free to defrag your computers if you feel you need to, say maybe once or twice a year, but certainly don’t worry about it if you don’t.
Protect your children from Internet Predators
There are many things that can be done to keep your children from getting tangled up with the wrong types of people on the Internet, whether it’s “Internet Predators” or simply people you find unacceptable. Most of these things have nothing to do with technology. Since I’m not in the business of giving parenting advice, I’ll stick with talking about technology.
The first thing many people think of are “filters”. This is generally software that runs on your computer that will block your kids from certain web sites, e-mails, chat rooms, or peer-to-peer networks. This can be done by checking Internet addresses against “blacklists” or by checking for keywords. While filters can be effective for protecting children from accidentally going to web sites that you do not approve of, they are not as effective from preventing a child determined to find a way to get around your rules. Even if your kid doesn’t have a lot of technical knowledge, you can be sure they have a friend who does. Also, filters must be constantly updated to keep them effective, which usually requires a subscription fee to the company that makes the filter. Finally, they can block access to legitimate sites, which can be a problem for older children doing research.
I believe that the best way to protect your kids is to know what they are doing when they are using the computer. With the knowledge of what your kids are up to, you can make sure they aren’t getting themselves in trouble or doing things that you do not approve. Of course, you can’t sit next to your kid the whole time they are using the computer, so this simply isn’t realistic, right? Well, with the right technology, you can know what your kids were doing on the computer, down to very specific details, and even see exactly what they were seeing.
The software I recommend for monitoring your kids is from a company called SpectorSoft. SpectorSoft has a few different products, to choose from, so to make it simple, if you have Windows, I recommend Spector Pro (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/SpectorPro_Windows/index.html). If you have a Mac, I recommend Spector for Mac (http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/Spector_Macintosh/index.html). Unfortunately, the Mac version doesn’t give you as many features as the Windows version, but it does give you enough information to effectively know what your kids were doing. Since SpectorSoft doesn’t label the Mac version as “Pro”, perhaps they will come out with a better version in the future. One good thing about Spector for the Mac is that it also runs on Mac OS 9, which is important because so many older Macs are still in use today.
For specific details of what Spector Pro does, do visit their web site listed above. It has a lot of in-depth and powerful features that you may be interested in, such as chat recording and MySpace monitoring, However, to keep things brief, I will only talk about the features I think are most important.
First, Spector Pro (as well as Spector for the Mac) has the ability to record screenshots of all activity. This can be done on a timed basis, as often as once a second, or based on user activity. Above all features, if you can see exactly what was on the screen when your kid was using the computer, you’ll have no doubt what they were doing. You can easily view these screenshots with simple “VCR-like” controls.
The second important feature is the ability to send you an instant alert if Spector Pro identifies a keyword that you have defined. You can create a list of “on alert” words or phrases and anytime Spector Pro detects the keyword, whether in a URL, chat room, e-mail, or typed on the keyboard, it can send you an e-mail – even to your cell phone. If you have concerns that your child is communicating with the wrong types of people, having nearly instant notification of this could be a life saver.
Perhaps the most important feature is that Spector is extremely stealthy and resistant to tampering. If your kids do not know that Spector is running, they will not try to find a way around it. It is also nearly impossible to detect that Spector is running, so they will not accidentally find out. Even if you tell your kids that you have installed software to monitor them, they still will not be able to find a way to disable it. Finally, access to Spector is protected with a hot key combination and a password so that only authorized users can view the recorded data or configure the software. Even if somehow your kids found a way to disable the software, you would know they did because you would have no record of what they were doing. It would be virtually impossible for your kids to create false data to fool you.
As mentioned above, using Spector can be effective regardless of if your kids know they are being monitored or not. If they don’t know they are being monitored, they are going to feel free to do everything they want, which will give you a very good idea of their computing habits, good or bad. If they do know they are being monitored, then they are much more likely to behave themselves, since they know you will be able to see exactly what they were doing. It’s completely up to you to use Spector in the way which best fits your particular situation.
Certainly, with as many options as Spector has available, if you do not feel comfortable installing or setting up Spector, I will be happy to help you out.
Storm Season Approaches – Protect Your Technology
Many people feel that the only way to protect their electronic equipment from storms is to unplug them from the wall. While not having something plugged in is the only 100% sure way to protect it from a particular power event, it certainly isn’t practical. Additionally, the reality is that many power events happen everyday that we are never aware of. And we aren’t always home or awake to unplug everything during a storm. So how does one effectively protect their electronic equipment from power events? The answer is through a quality uninterruptible power supply, otherwise known as a UPS, or commonly referred to as a battery back-up.
In simple terms, a UPS is a surge protector with a battery as a back-up power source. If the UPS detects any sort of power disturbance – such as electrical noise, over/under-voltage conditions, or even a complete blackout – it instantly switches to the battery as the power source. In this way, the devices plugged in to the UPS will always receive clean power, no matter what the disturbance. Of course, the battery can only last so long, depending on its size and how many devices are plugged in, but generally the common consumer models can provide enough power to run equipment for 10 – 20 minutes. This is usually long enough for a short blackout and certainly long enough for those annoying blips in power all too common during the summer months.
The two brands I recommend, APC and CyberPower, both guarantee that their products will protect your equipment even from a lightning strike. These brands are commonly sold at most major retailers and at many local computer stores. If you need help sizing and choosing the best UPS for your needs, please let me know and I’d be happy to help.