Windows 8 – the optimized-for-tablets form of Windows 7 – is scheduled to be officially unveiled (Nevermind the fact that many of us have had access to the beta software for months now!) later this month. With the release of Windows 8, we are also looking forward to Windows 8 tablets which thus far sound like they will function much like Windows phones and the XBox Live interace do now. The interface will be dominated by large “live tiles” that allow for easy multi-tasking. I haven’t had the opportunity to play around much with a Windows phone, but I expect Windows tablets to be pretty fun little gadgets.

It will be interesting to see how Windows tablets fare against the latest incarnation of iPad set to release…well, who knows? No official word from Apple on that one yet. The Internet is replete with rumors.

Do you plan to upgrade to Windows 8 when it releases? Are you looking forward to the iPad 3? Leave your comments in the comments section below, or let us know on Facebook or on Twitter.

Au revoire,

Scott Davis
Store Manager
Computer Depot, Inc.

About two weeks ago, I received my latest ###cast bill. It was $10 higher than I what I had been paying for six months. I had previously been on a promotional rate, so I knew this time was coming.

So how much was I paying? Keep in mind– I only have Internet service; I don’t have any bundled telephone or cable television included. My bill was about $55 for a single month, and I wasn’t even renting any equipment! I don’t know which side of the street you played on growing up; but where I come from, $55 is a lot of money.

I decided to call ###cast and talk to them about it. After finding my way through the automated system, I had the opportunity to speak a very nice Indian woman working at the call center ’round the world. I told her that I didn’t want to pay $55 per month for my Internet service, and I would rather cancel my subscription than pay that much. She placed me on hold for about five minutes, came back, and offered me a promotion that would give me the exact same service for $30 a month for 12 months. I readily accepted her offer.

Yes, it’s a promotional rate; and twelve months from now, I will probably have to go through the same process again. But I think saving $300 over the course of 12 months is worth it. Don’t you?

Are you paying your Internet company too much? Give them a call. See what happens. You’ll never know unless you try.

Au revoire,

Scott Davis
Store Manager
Powell Location

Despite my lack of desire to become involved in politics, there is a very important bill being considered in Congress now. This bill will likely affect my day-to-day life, as well as yours. Anyone who has access to and/or uses the Internet frequently will be affected by this bill, should it pass. That bill is the SOPA – Stop Online Piracy Act.

I am in the minority, and I know that I am. I am a highly tech-savvy computer user without a single illegal mp3 or movie download on my computer. Nothing that I own in digital form is not on my DVD rack in physical form. I personally believe that having such things is theft, and I promote the fact that it is illegal to have and distribute such material. Making and publishing good movies on a visibly public scale costs millions of dollars. Doing the same with music costs tens of thousands of dollars. Who are we to think we are so important that we should own this material that cost so very much to make for free? The fact that anyone would have this material and not pay a penny for it makes one a bit of a thief. I am convinced this activity costs the economy billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. I promise that I am not speaking to anyone in particular, and I would never make a big deal about this unless I were asked. But this is my blog post; therefore, my opinions go here.

The SOPA has far-reaching implications. In theory, it will give the government the right to block Internet traffic from YOUR computer, because YOU are attempting to download copyrighted material you do not own and you have not paid for. This means that the government could possibly moderate both Facebook and YouTube on a daily basis. Because of this power that must be made available to the government, the process of securing the Internet from hackers and other ill-doers will be greatly compromised. This means you will probably have more viruses on your computer, and identity theft will sky-rocket.

I have two opinions regarding this bill. #1: I hate it. I hate any bill that gives the federal government more power over the private sector. That means I hate a lot of things, including SOPA. I hope it does not pass; but from what it looks like, it will. There really is not much I can do about that.

Opinion #2: We did this. It is our fault. People who know their way around the Internet so well that they download thousands of gigabytes in illegal intellectual property (usually movies) a week. If the bill passes, we have only ourselves to blame. I am convinced that it is because of illegal downloading that truly talented musicians (including personal friends of mine) without beefy pockets are unable to get ahead of the bubblegum pop garbage we hear on the radio every day. It is because of illegal downloading that we see so few new successful movie directors, producers, studios, and actors. It is because of illegal downloading that the SOPA will probably pass, and the Internet as we know it will change forever. We did this. It is our fault.

I would like to know where you stand. Feel free to leave your comments in the comments sections below.

By the way, I hope I did not make anyone I know mad in this post. I promise it is nothing personal.

You can read all about the SOPA here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/sopa-internet-censorship-online-piracy-house-hearing_n_1098255.html

Au revoire,

Scott Davis
Store Manager
Powell Location

“You know, you never really have used Apple(R) products much. Your first computer was a PC, and every computer thereafter. You really haven’t given Apple(R) products a fair shake. Someday, you ought to give them a chance. Maybe they’ll surprise you. Maybe you were wrong. After all, how can you really have an opinion on something you have rarely tried?

I bought my wife an iPad(TM) for Christmas. I knew she would love it, and she does. She isn’t tech-savvy; she doesn’t have a lot of technical demand. She wants a chic, sleek, “toy” that she can use for Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, email, and everyday web browsing. This is what the iPad(TM) excels at; therefore, she loves it.

I however, have a far different opinion. Let me briefly explain why:

1. It will not connect to HDMI without a proprietary-Apple(R) USB adapter.
2. It will not connect to USB devices without a proprietary-Apple(R) USB adapter.
3. It will not charge without a proprietary-Apple(R) USB adapter.
4. It doesn’t support Flash. At all. Ever. And never will.
5. It will not print to anything but an Apple(R) Air(TM) approved printer.
6. It has no micro-SD card support; therefore, there is now to access additional local storage.
7. There are very few free apps on the App(TM?) Market.
(By the way, Apple(R) has engaged in lawsuits against Google and Amazon in an attempt to safeguard their usage of the word “App.” No, I’m not kidding.)
8. Apple(R) is constantly pushing new updates to prevent you from “Jailbreaking” your iPad(TM)
(“Jailbreaking” is exploiting backdoors in the software in order to make the iPad(TM) capable of being almost as productive as a tablet by any other name).

Summary: Apple(R) makes good hardware, but their software is so restricting that you couldn’t possibly get into trouble if you wanted to. Everyone thinks Apple(R) products never have problems; the only reason that might be somewhat true is that they don’t let you DO anything. A child locked in his room with nothing but bread and water is not likely to break your neighbor’s window. If you want a high-dollar TOY that makes you look cool while you sip on your Sixbucks coffee, the iPad is for you. If you like the idea that a $500+ gadget should be capable of performing the functions on a 20-year old Gameboy, I refer you to an Android tablet.

Computer Depot sells those by the way, in case you’re interested.

Au revoire,

Scott Davis
Store Manager
Computer Depot, Inc.

“I”m buying a laptop (or tablet) for my granddaughter/niece/nephew/poor uncle Elroy, and I don’t need anything special. I just want something that’s going to let him/her play games/get on Facebook/check email/get on Craigslist/become a YouTube junkie.” At this point, I will begin to show these customers our LENOVO laptops. (Again, we only carry Lenovo. Why? Because they make the most reliable laptop at the most reasonable price. The only other thing that comes close is a Panasonic Toughbook, and they START at over $1,000.) I will tell them, “These laptops come with a three-year warranty and they start at $499.”

Can you guess the reaction? “Whoa! No way. This is for ________, and I don’t want to spend that type of money!” If you have ever said something like this, this post is for you.

Recently, I had a good friend of my wife’s ask my advice on a tablet for her daughter (who is 5 years old…I think.). I pointed her to a Motorola Xoom, or a Samsung Galaxy Tab, or a Lenovo K1. These are all good Android tablets, and if you are a deal-hunter, you can find them for as inexpensive as $299. She ended up not following my advice, because “It was for a little girl, and not worth that much money.” She went out and bought some type of “Coby” something-other which A) wasn’t configured properly from the factory and B) stopped working in three months. Now, she is asking my advice again.

I do not say this to poke fun at this woman. She is a dear friend, and I wouldn’t do that. This is just a prime example of what I wish to state concerning electronic gifts this Christmas season.
No matter who you are buying a laptop or tablet for, it does not matter what he or she is or is not going to do on it. If the device you purchase stops working soon after you buy it, he or she will not be doing anything on it.

The old adage is true: You get what you pay for. In other words, if you spend a little more money up front, odds are you are going to save time, money, and frustration down the road. Stop buying $299 laptops at Wal-Mart that last 12.1 months. Resist the urge to be disappointed when a computer repair shop carries brand-new laptops starting at $499. They REPAIR these things for a living. They know what works and what does not work. The salesman at Wal-Mart is 16 years old and knows next to nothing. Remember this, this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Google+ (a new social networking site that everyone’s great-grandmother is not on) now offers “Pages” for businesses.

What does that mean? Well, in layman’s terms, you know how many businesses nowadays give you incentives to “Like us on Facebook?” Well, now you can +1 your favorite businesses on Google+ too.

Obviously, the concept itself is not some “revolutionary” new idea, especially since Facebook and Twitter have already done a good job of amping up the business end of social media. I have come to think of Google as the online BASF. You remember those commercials, right? “We don’t make a lot of the products you buy; we make a lot of the products you buy better.” Practically anytime Google touches something, it turns to gold. And if Google touches gold, the gold becomes 900 carat diamond with platinum edges and free waffles.” Don’t believe me? When’s the last time you heard someone say, “I yahoo-ed the subject for my school paper,” or “I alta-vista-ed my mom’s new boyfriend,” or “I need to lycos who won the game last night.” Google didn’t invent Internet searching. They made Internet searching better. So much so that the company name has become a household verb.

I have already heard many G+ critics say, “Well, I still think Facebook is better.” That may very well be, but consider of how long Facebook has been around. Google+ is still just getting started. Neither Facebook nor Rome were built in a day. I find it exciting to see Google+ add features and put their own creative spin on it. (I’m in still in awe of the “Circles” idea. That, right there, is what Facebook was missing all along.)

I am really looking forward to signing Computer Depot up for a Google+ page, so look for that in the not-too-distant future.

P. S. When’s the last time you Appled something, by the way?

It seems like everyone has a slightly different opinion on “Which antivirus is the best?” The fact that it seems no two people agree proves one very important point that most people miss – No antivirus is perfect. Meaning, no matter what antivirus you have, it is not a sure-fire, fool-proof guarantee that you will never get a virus. There simply is no such software. If there were such a thing, everyone would agree on “What is the best antivirus?” because there would only be one! All the others would fade away because they weren’t as good.

An antivirus is like a seatbelt in your car. You definitely want to put it on before you start driving, similar to the way you want to have an antivirus software before you get on the Internet. It is important to note that putting on a seatbelt will help you in case of an accident. It does not prevent accidents. Antivirus softwares are the same way. They do not prevent virus infections; they are designed to help you in case of a virus infection.

So, the question is: “Which antivirus will help you the most in case of an infection.

We battle with viruses all the time at Computer Depot. It’s probably half of what we do. People get click-happy and they click on things that are flashy and “free,” then they bring their computers to us to get them out of the mess. I do not mean to be boastful, but our opinion should carry some weight, because we do this all the time.

Our opinion: Panda Antivirus Pro. Let me briefly explain why.

Within the past two months, we have ran scans with NOD32, Kaspersky, TrendMicro, Avast, and AVG Antivirus. This is not all of them, but it is some of the heavy competitors. After scanning customers’ systems with these antiviruses, we have scanned the same computers with Panda. The result: Panda ALWAYS found anywhere from 2 to over 100 different infections that the other antivirus missed.

You may have noticed that we did not mention McAfee or Norton. These are two real heavy hitters in the antivirus world, because so many companies offer them for free–through Internet service providers or similar services. The fact is that McAfee and Norton are the two worst antiviruses in the world. Don’t be caught dead with them on your computer. They protect you from next-to-nothing and slow your computer down worse than a turtle swimming through molasses. Yeah, it’s that bad.

If I still have your attention, I would also like to mention that free antiviruses (Avast, AVG, Avira, etc.) are certainly better than no protection at all, but you get what you pay for. Even AVG and Avast, the two biggest players in free antivirus, offer a paid subscription that is much stronger protection than their free software. If you don’t have any money for antivirus, download one and install it. If you can afford a better antivirus, do so. Once again, you get what you pay for.

One last thing– Do not use more than one antivirus at a time. We see this at Computer Depot all the time! McAfee and Norton together are significantly worse than either one by itself. Two antiviruses mean that they will fight against each other rather than viruses, and infections will get through as easily as if you had nothing protecting your computer.

I hope that this post has been helpful. Feel free to leave your comments in the section below, or on our Facebook page.

Au revoir,

Scott Davis
Store Manager and Lead Technician
Powell Location

Computer Depot carries Panda AV Pro 2012 for $39, and you can install it on up to three computers.

Is it just me, or was Windows 7 just released a couple of years ago? (October 22, 2009 to be exact). Given its enormous success as a savior from the horrors of Windows Vista, I find it very difficult to understand why Microsoft would want to risk releasing another edition of Windows so soon… but they are. The only possible explanation I can see is that Windows 8 appears to have been designed mostly with tablets in mind. Since tablets are definitely the “in” gadget right now, I can see where Microsoft would want to capitalize on the trend.

“Windows 8″ is on its way, scheduled for release sometime in the year 2012 (assuming the world doesn’t end, of course.)

Shockingly enough (Not), there are preliminary editions of Windows 8 already “leaked out”; so if you’re a fellow techie, you can already check out what is coming up.

My biggest question is this– Is Windows 8 going to replace Windows 7, or is going to ship as a parallel operating system? In other words, will most computers will use Windows 7, while tablets use Windows 8? My research does not turn up any good answers thus far.

I would be interested in knowing what you think. Feel free to leave a comment in the “Comments” section below.

Optical drives are the CD drives and/or DVD drives that come in the majority of computers. Some small laptops (netbooks) do not ship with optical drives at all, but the majority of computers ship with at least one optical drive.

There are several types of optical drives. Some drives perform “read-only” functions, while others are also capable of “burning” (creating) CDs and/or DVDs. Specific types of optical drives are CD players (CD-ROM), CD burners(CD-RW), DVD players (DVD-ROM), DVD burners (DVD-RW), Blu-ray players (BD-ROM) , and Blu-ray burners (BD-RW). There are also DVD combo drives that will play DVDs and burn CDs, and Blu-ray combo drives that will play Blu-ray discs and burn CDs and DVDs.

Modern new computers ship with at least a DVD burner (DVD-RW) which will allow you play and burn both CDs and DVDs. Higher-end models ship with Blu-ray players or even burners.

*** If you typically back up your information to CDs or DVDs, this is for you! ***
Many people have grown accustomed to backing up their data to CDs and DVDs, but this really is not the best solution anymore. CDs and DVDs are easily scratched and damaged, and the act of actually creating them is much more complicated than other back methods. Backing up your data to flash drives, external hard drives, or even online storage is a much better choice than burning CDs or DVDs–both, because it is easier, and because the data is much safer (You cannot “scratch” a flash drive!!)

I recognize this has probably been the single least-exciting post ever, but there just really is not much to say about optical drives. It is pretty easy stuff! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment in the comments section, and I will be happy to address it.

Check back next week; I am sure we will have something MUCH more exciting to talk about.

Au revoir,

Scott Davis
Store Manager and Lead Technician
Powell Location

I cannot tell you how many people confuse hard drive disk space with memory. I can easily see where the misunderstanding would arise. One would normally think, “Memory, yeah–that’s the stuff that your computer remembers!” Memory was discussed last week in the post you can find here. You may also see a picture of memory by clicking here.

What people often think of as memory is actually hard drive disk space. The hard drive disk (abbreviated HDD) is where the computer stores all of the user’s information. Everything from the operating system, to programs, to pictures, documents, music, settings–it is all stored on the HDD. It looks like this.

When shopping for a new computer, the hard drive disk is normally going to be described in this manner: “160 GB 5900 RPM HDD,” or “500 GB 7200 RPM HDD.” The number before “GB” tells you how much data the computer can store. Simply put, larger “GB” means you can store more stuff. The number before “RPM” states how fast the platters on the inside (see below) spin, which is an indication of how quickly your computer can access the data. Faster RPM translates to faster data access with a slight decrease in stability. 5900 RPM means the opposite–a slightly longer amount of time to access the data with a slight increase in stability.

On the inside of the HDD you will find anywhere from two-three “platters” with “heads” that run in-between and above them. It sort looks sort-of like Star Trek meets the phonograph. The internal workings of a HDD can be seen here, here, and here.

Your HDD is unfortunately the single most volatile part of your computer–meaning, it is the most susceptible to damage and often the first thing to stop functioning correctly. The reason is that those individual platters constantly spin anywhere from 5900 to 7200 revolutions per minute with an extremely small amount of space between them and other moving parts. Laptop HDD’s are even more volatile, because people normally treat their laptops with very little care. Moving them around constantly, dropping them occasionally, shoving them in bookbags while they are still on, etc. are all very tough on the HDD.

All of this brings us to one crucial point that everybody knows but never pay attention to–BACK UP YOUR DATA! If you have important information on your computer that you have not backed-up in a long time, you need to stop reading this blog and back up your stuff! You may say, “I don’t know how!” Go to your local electronics shop and ask the salesperson to point you to a USB external hard drive. He will know where to take you. I plan to do a post about data backup in the near future, so if you have not backed-up your data by then, you can tune back in and follow my instructions step-by-step.

I hope this helps! Next week, we are going to talk about optical drives. Stay tuned!

Au revoir,

Scott Davis
Store Manager and Lead Technician
Powell Location