Tech Tips

Every so often, a client asks me if a particular utility software is worth purchasing. Usually the software claims it will speed up their computer or fix hidden problems or provide some other benefit. Given that the history of personal computing is full of tips and tricks that helped users tweak their computers to work better, the vast number of utility software out there is no surprise. However, what most people don’t realize is that in today’s day and age, much of this software provides virtually no benefit, or at worst, is an outright scam.

The first thing to realize is that modern computers are simultaneously both more reliable and more complex. The evolution of cars and computers makes a good analogy. Many people used to maintain their own cars and similarly many people became accustomed to maintaining their own computers. As cars have become more reliable and complex, now most people simply bring their cars in to be periodically maintained. The same can be true of computers today.

Modern computers do not need the level of maintenance that older computers did. Yes, there are some routine things that should be done to keep a computer running well. But many of the questionable utility softwares perform actions that are of dubious value. Combined with the fact that the complexity of modern computers makes tinkering with the system software a risky venture, most users take their computing lives into their own hands when they choose to use a utility software.

I recently became aware of a software named MacKeeper that was causing some of my clients problems. I had seen the advertisements for MacKeeper all over the Internet this year and my immediate thought was “why does anyone need this software?” Mac computers are the most reliable computers out there. Only a minimal amount of maintenance is needed. Why would anyone want to muck up their computer with software that does a bunch of relatively useless things? I didn’t pay it much heed until I learned that some of my clients had purchased this software and it ended up causing them problems. For a program that is supposed to make your computer work better, that is a catastrophic failure in my opinion!

Bottom line, rather than trusting some software that attempts to automate potentially risky operations, it is best to ask for help from a qualified computer professional. My Computer Tune-Up service can take care of all your periodic maintenance needs and you get the peace of mind that a professional with a lifetime of experience is taking care of your computer and data. Feel free to contact me anytime if you feel your computer needs some service.

This article is part of my Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide. Make sure to read that article first for an overview of my recommendations.

At this point, the only real competition to Apple’s iPhone and iPad are devices that run Google’s Android operating system (also commonly referred to as “Droid” devices, although that actually refers to the brand-name of the Motorola-manufactured Android phones). Android-based smartphones are selling well, with certain statistics even showing them outselling iPhones in certain markets (although they generally count free and half-price phones in their figures, where Apple has never given away iPhones). However, for their relative popularity, Android devices are fraught with peril for the unwary customer. Because of the complexity of explaining this in detail, I have prepared a supporting article. But if you aren’t interested in reading all the details, I can sum it up this way:

• There are too many Android devices resulting in little feature standardization among the devices, making choosing a device difficult.
• Many Android devices are made with cheap materials and are poorly constructed.
• There is not a unified operating system standard among Android devices, resulting in a fragmented market for app development, causing consumer confusion over which device may support certain features or apps.
• Android devices can get malware.
• Android devices are not as easy-to-use as Apple devices, nor have the quality or selection of apps available.
• The support for a particular phone may be poor, as it is up to each device manufacturer and wireless carrier to support it. Google does not do consumer support of any Android phone.
• Google’s recent purchase of Motorola throws their relationships with their current hardware partners into a state of chaos. Will current Android hardware partners be in the Android business next year? Will their current phones be orphaned?

So if you’d like to read the details, click on to my supporting article (article coming soon … stay tuned). But otherwise, just from the summary above, it’s hard to recommend an Android-based phone or tablet. Based in a large part on the mostly poor feedback I get from Android phone owners, I honestly believe they are selling as well as they are because many people’s wireless carriers do not yet have the iPhone. Time will tell as the iPhone becomes available on other carriers.

This article is part of my Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide. Make sure to read that article first for an overview of my recommendations.

RIM and their various Blackberry devices are well-known, having been the best-selling smartphone on the market prior to the iPhone. However, similar to Microsoft, RIM had to rethink their mobile phone offerings after the iPhone changed the market. So far, they’ve been less than successful.

RIM is still trying to develop a phone that is as user friendly as the iPhone and their selection of third-party apps is quite small. The main problem with the Blackberry is that the platform feels “stuck” in the past. However, RIM is having a hard time breaking with the past for fear of alienating their relatively large installed base (mostly corporate users). Yet at some point they must because their marketshare continues to slip. So prospective buyers are in a sort of limbo, awaiting if RIM will bring out their next big thing sooner than later.

RIM’s tablet offering, the PlayBook, has gotten very poor reviews and is not selling well at all. This bodes very poorly for the company as the operating system that that they are offering on the PlayBook may be what RIM transitions to on their phones. If the PlayBook is a failure in the marketplace, this may not inspire a lot of confidence in the market about future Blackberry phones.

Additionally, RIM as a company appears to be dysfunctional, and it’s not clear they are going to be able to pull out of the tailspin they are in. Given that the future of the company itself is questionable at this time, I must advise that you stay away from RIM’s Blackberry devices for the near future.

This article is part of my Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide. Make sure to read that article first for an overview of my recommendations.

Next in the lineup is Microsoft. For Microsoft’s history of smartphones going back to the early 2000’s, Microsoft has essentially “re-booted” their smartphone strategy with Windows Phone 7. Devices that run Windows Phone 7 are not compatible with any apps made for any of the previous generations of “Windows Mobile” devices. That being said, Windows Phone 7 has only been out on the market less than a year and so far has not garnered a lot of attention. The various devices that run Windows Phone 7 have no where near the number of apps as the other major players and reviews have been mixed. The platform may have a good future, given that Microsoft will not give up on their mobile device strategy (the future of the company depends on it) and they have the resources to keep improving the device, no matter how bad sales are. But as it stands, Windows Phone 7 is just not ready for prime-time. You’d do well to stay away from any device that runs Windows Phone 7 for the near future.

And don’t worry about any tablets that run a Microsoft operating system. They simply don’t exist – except for “tablet PC” devices running the PC version of Windows – but those aren’t the same thing as the tablets most people think about today (like the iPad). Tablet PC devices have been around since the early 2000’s and never sold very well. Rumors are that Microsoft’s next operating system, likely named Windows 8, will run on iPad-like tablets, but that won’t happen for at least a year. So don’t hold your breath.

This article is part of my Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide. Make sure to read that article first for an overview of my recommendations.

When I first started writing my guide, HP had just launched their TouchPad tablet device. So I wanted to include them in the roundup. However, the answer is now very simple. HP is out of the game. Finished. Kaput. They gave up 6 weeks after launching the TouchPad. However, for the near future, you may find “bargain-basement” pricing on HP TouchPads and their smartphone lineup. However tempting it may be, that $99 tablet that sort of looks like an iPad is a dead product. Dead as a doornail. No updates will be released and no more apps will be developed for it. You’re buying this device as is, which isn’t saying much for the ill-fated, poorly-received product. Same for the HP/Palm phones. Please, just be careful and advise any of your friends and family the same. I’ve seen reports of people spending $300 on eBay for these virtually worthless devices now.

This article is part of my Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide. Make sure to read that article first, unless you know for sure you want an Apple iPhone or iPad.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the Apple iPhone and iPad have completely revolutionized the technology industry. It’s not hard to realize this when you consider that a company which was on the brink of extinction about 12 years ago now has $80 billion in the bank and is considered the largest company in the world.

Apple’s devices have set the world on fire and the reasons are as simple as the devices themselves. People love their iPhones and iPads because they are easy to use, are extremely reliable, and have a huge library of apps they can download and make use of. And when I use the word “love”, I really mean it. Most people I talk to literally say they love their Apple device. I almost never get this reaction from any other technology product, including the devices that compete with the iPhone and iPad.

One of the most common questions I get nowadays is which is the best non-iPhone to purchase. It’s interesting I get the question phrased in this way. It’s usually from people who have Sprint, T-Mobile or another carrier who does not have the iPhone available. The insinuation is that if they could get the iPhone they would, but since they can’t, then they want to know the next best thing.

The short answer is there is no “next best thing”. If you want an iPhone, there is only one iPhone. Sure other phones may superficially look similar. But scratch the surface and you’ll find out why the iPhone is revered by their owners, while other devices are not. In fact, Apple is going through great lengths to point that out with their latest iPhone ad campaign – “If you don’t have an iPhone, well, you don’t have an iPhone”.

If you’re looking to purchase a new smartphone, you should seriously consider changing your carrier to get the iPhone. Rumors are that Sprint and T-Mobile may get the iPhone this fall. But these are rumors, so don’t count on them. However, if T-Mobile gets bought out by AT&T, then likely T-Mobile users will get the iPhone. Still, this may be several months out yet, so don’t hold your breath.

I’ve gotten a few similar questions about iPad competitors, but I get the feeling that most people don’t even realize there are iPad competitors. If they do, they don’t care. The reality is that unlike the smartphone market, where Android devices compete with the iPhone, the tablet market is completely dominated by the Apple iPad.

About the only problem that some people have with an iPhone or iPad is the lack of Adobe Flash support on these devices. It seems most people rarely run into a problem by not having Flash support, but some others seem to be affected by this more often. Apple’s competitors often cite their Adobe Flash compatibility (however flawed it may be) as a competitive advantage. The bottom line is that the lack of Adobe Flash support is a problem that will only continue to get better as web site developers move away from that technology. Already, many major web sites have announced they are transitioning to technology that is compatible with the Apple devices. It’s hard to ignore a market of over 200 million devices that only continue to grow rapidly.

So let’s get down to brass tacks. Which iPhone or iPad is best for you? Let’s start with the iPhone. Right now my advice is pretty simple: wait to see what Apple does in the late September/early October timeframe. I’d hate to see you buy a device right before Apple releases their latest iPhone model, which all rumors point to a new one right around the corner. So wait until then and I’ll be write my updated recommendations at that time.

As far as the iPad, your options boil down to the following:

Color: Black or White

Capacity: 16, 32, or 64 GB

Connectivity: Wi-Fi Only, AT&T 3G, Verizon 3G

Between these options, there are 18 different choices of iPad available. But it’s easy to narrow down which option you want as I’ll describe below. Also note that the current iPad model is the iPad 2. If you find an original iPad for sale, it might seem like a good deal, but I highly recommend that you purchase an iPad 2 in most cases.

Color is very simple. Pick whichever one you like best. However, keep in mind that you might put a cover on the iPad, so your choice of the cover may affect which color you prefer. Also keep in mind that the iPad is still very tough to find at times, so you may not get your choice of color if you want it right away.

Capacity can be simple. Each jump in capacity results in a $100 increment in price. For most people, the 16 GB model will be more than plenty. But if you’re the type of person who has a significant amount of music, photos, or video that you’d like to take with you on your iPad, then the 32 or 64 GB model may serve you well. And again, because the iPad can be tough to find at times, you may not be able to find a 16 GB model if that’s what you want. I think for only $100 more, getting double the capacity isn’t a bad deal. So if you want an iPad right away, getting the bigger model may be a good choice.

Connectivity is usually the most confusing option for most people. First off, all the models do have Wi-Fi. Some people think they must choose between Wi-Fi and the 3G service. No matter which device you pick, you’ll always be able to connect to Wi-Fi when you want.

So the first question is should you buy a 3G model? If you know for sure that the iPad will never, ever be used in a situation where the 3G service would be needed, then the Wi-Fi model should be good for you. Often, iPads that are purchased for children, or for use only in a specific location fit into this category. However, increasingly I find that people have the occasional need for mobile iPad Internet use. For example, let’s say a family goes on vacation once or twice a year, or a user travels a few times in a year for business. Because the iPad’s data plans from either AT&T or Verizon do not require a contract, users are free to pay for one month at a time. This flexibility in the data plans means that users can only activate the service when they need it (in monthly increments) and then cancel it until they need it again. The 3G models cost $130 more than their respective Wi-Fi only models, but in many cases I feel the extra money is worth it for the flexibility to activate the 3G service when needed.

So if you decide you’d like a 3G model iPad, then is the AT&T or Verizon service best for you? Note that whichever iPad you pick can only use that specific carrier. So you can’t purchase an AT&T iPad and change it to use Verizon, or vice-versa. Also note that it does not matter which carrier you have for your cell phone service. The iPad data plan is completely independent of your cell phone bill, regardless of which carrier you choose.

The answer to AT&T vs Verizon is not so simple. It completely depends on where you expect to use the iPad with 3G service most often. For example, my first iPad had AT&T service. My new iPad has Verizon service. I did this on purpose so I could compare the two with my usage. For the most part, I haven’t really noticed a difference. Each carrier will try to persuade you that theirs is the best service. But each carrier has their strengths and weaknesses as well as dead zones. The only way to know is to test it yourself, or ask others who have the respective service how well each carrier works for them. The pricing plans are similar between the two carriers, but also check them against your expected usage before making a decision.

If you expect to do a lot of international travel, the AT&T model may be your better choice. AT&T’s network technology is more globally compatible than Verizon’s. Other than that caveat, the choice between AT&T and Verizon in most cases just likely won’t matter. If the specific model you want isn’t available, you probably won’t go wrong with the other.

So hopefully all this information will help you make the best decision for your iPad purchase. As I said, be on the lookout for an iPhone buying guide in about a month or so.

As companies like HP tumble out of the smartphone and tablet market, others fall from prominence like RIM (“Blackberry”), and yet others like Microsoft try to get a foothold with Windows Phone 7 (and eventually Windows 8?), it can be difficult for an average consumer to filter through all the hype and make the best purchase decision possible. So I’ve prepared a guide to help you make the best purchase possible.

If you really want me to cut to the chase, I’ll do so here. The rest of my guide will simply back up my conclusion: you should only be looking to purchase an Apple iPhone or iPad. All the other products and the platforms they are based on have serious flaws or usability issues that should cause serious concern to anyone interested. If you trust me (you do trust me, don’t you?) then you can stop reading here, or go on and read more specifically which model of iPhone or iPad is best for you. But for the curious, feel free to read on for the gory details. I’ll try to keep it as non-techy as possible, I promise.

Simply click on the links below for a more in-depth look at each major platform in the market:

Apple iPhone and iPad Buying Guide

Google Android Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide

RIM (Blackberry) Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide

Microsoft Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide

HP Smartphone and Tablet Buying Guide

In my many years of helping people with their computers, I’ve noticed a lot of people are still being ineffective with the most basic of input skills. When looked at in a single situation, poor keyboard and mouse skills might only delay people by a few seconds. But inefficient practices repeated hour after hour, day after day, and week after week can add up to hours of wasted time. So allow me to give you one very simple tip to correct a inefficiency I see very often.

When filling in consecutive fields in a computer form – for example a username and password or a street address – instead of using the mouse to click into every single field, simply use the Tab key on the keyboard. In almost every software or web site, the Tab key moves the cursor to the next field allowing you to continue typing without the interruption of using the mouse. Your hands are already on the keyboard. Taking your hand off the keyboard, your eyes off the screen, moving the mouse and clicking, then putting your hands back on the keyboard can use up at least a few seconds. That may not seem like a lot, but again over time it can add up quickly.

A simple follow-up tip is to use the Return or Enter key on your keyboard instead of clicking the “Continue” or “Next” button on forms (similar buttons include “Go”, “Finished”, “Login”, or “Done”). Again, the idea is that with a single keyboard press you can move along instead of taking the few seconds to move the mouse into just the right spot on the screen to click.

If you are currently not using the Tab and Return/Enter key effectively, pay attention and really try to use these tips over the next few days. I bet you’ll be surprised at how much time you’re saving!

If you have other questions about basic computer skills, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help!