My Newest, Favorite App & the Top 5

I am an avid reader.  I buy books that I like to read over and over, and I use the library for one-time reads.  I used to travel some in a past career, and would typically stop in the airport bookstore and purchase a book to read while flying.  One time, while reading a Star Wars novel, everything seemed familiar to me and it wasn't due to my unhealthy fascination with Lightsabers.  I had already purchased and read the book during a previous business trip!  My newest app purchase will make sure that I never do that again!  It gets added to my Top 5 Favorite Apps. 

1) iBookshelf (iTunes Link) $1.99 - This app works on both the small screen and the large.  It's a fantastic database for your library, and will allow you to scan the barcode of your books and add those titles automatically for you! You can track loans to others & books that you want to read.  If you use this app, you'll never purchase the same book twice again! Best of all, you will have this app with you on your phone when you go to the bookstore!

2) Flow (iTunes Link) Free Trial then $9.99/month - A great task/project management app for the iPhone.  You can manage your Projects, next actions, lists, ToDo's and anything you want in a GTD fasion.  You can even delegate tasks to non-Flow users!

3) Pandora (iTunes Link) Free - Pandora has long been a staple for me.  I have quite an extensive music library, but I find myself listening to the same music over and over again.  Pandora allows me to expand my listening library based on music that I already like.  You can also use Pandora on PCs, TiVos, and many other devices.  Click www.pandora.com for more details. 

4) Photosynth (iTunes Link) Free - Microsoft has really outdone themselves with this iOS app.  Photosynth allows you to "stitch" together photos and make a panorama of your surroundings.  This is a must have app for anyone who takes pictures. 

5) MyWi 4.0 (Jailbreak App) $20 - If you ever have a need to have mobile internet access for your laptop, MyWi is the way to go.  Data is Data.  Your cellular carrier should not have the right to tell you how to use your data plan.  After all, you are paying them, aren't you?  MyWi will allow you to set up a mobile hotspot so that you can use your phone's data stream and get internet access to your laptop or other portable device.  You must have a jailbroken iPhone in order to use this.  It's not for the faint of heart. 

What fell out of my Top 5?  iBookshelf replaced Netflix (iTunes Link).  I found that I wasn't using Netflix enough to justify it being in my Top 5.  I still love the product, but I'd rather read! 

What are your favorite apps? 

Backup Friday

I'd like to share a recent conversation that I had with my sister.  Her laptop crashed this week.  It's a four year old laptop and has served her well.  The crash was severe enough that I couldn't really help her our remotely.  She decided very quickly to replace it, and of course I asked, 

"Is there data to save?" - Garth

"Isn't there always?" - Colleen

"No. Not always.  Some people have backups!" - Garth

"Yeah, well we're not some people." - Colleen

<Inward groan> "Maybe this time" - Garth

There are any number of great ways to backup your data so that you don't lose your pictures, music, videos, and files.  People used to have shoeboxes of pictures in the backs of closets.  They were always at risk with a fire or flood.  

You can back up your entire data collection for around $55 per year with Carbonite or BackBlaze.  Aren't your family pictures worth it? 

5 Things You Can Do To Keep Your PC Running Smoothly

Your PC needs regular maintenance and protection just as much as your car needs an oil change.  Here are 5 things that all PC users can do to help maintain their PC: 

1) Basic Maintenance: Keep your PC clean.  Use some canned air twice a year to blow out vent and ports.  Get that dust out of there.  If you clean out your PC on a regular basis, it is less likely to overheat. 

2) Power Protection: Use a higher quality power strip.  The one that you purchased for $4.99 probably doesn't provide the best protection against power surges.  We have more service calls for dead PCs during lightning season than you can imagine.  Many of these would have been avoided with a better quality power strip. 

3) Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware:

Anti-Virus – You need to run basic Anti-Virus protection. There are no reasons to forgo this protection because there are many great free services out there.  We’re currently recommending Microsoft Security Essentials for small business and home uses. 

Anti-Spyware – Viruses aren’t the only bad things looking to get into your PC.  Spyware is the fastest growing threat to your PC. Try Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or SpySweeper.

(Yes, we know that this was included in last week’s top 5.  It’s that important!)

4) Firewall: A firewall is like a barbed wire fence.  It helps protect your digital property while allowing safe communication through.  All networks need to use at least one firewall, and I use two.  I have a hardware based firewall in my router, and I also have a software firewall that is used on each of our PCs. 

5) System Restore: From time to time, a new program or a driver can cause unexpected interference with Windows or other programs.  You may see erratic behavior or certain programs will not work as expected.  Usually, uninstalling the program or driver corrects the problem. When this doesn't help, you need to restore your system using Windows System Restore.  It's like a "Do Over" or a way to go back to a previous set-up.  You won't lose any data doing this as it only changes programs and Windows.  This only works when it is turned on and actively working for you!

Weekly 127TECH Tips Summary

Friday 11/5/2010 - 127TECH Tip: It's Backup Friday! What's your backup plan? What would you do if you lost your pictures? Click to starthttp://goo.gl/T0X0Q

Thursday 11/4/2010 - 127TECH Tip: Reboot. It really helps.

Wednesday 11/3/2010 - 127TECH Tip: Do you use Gmail? Have you run through the Gmail Security Checklist? You Should! See it here: http://goo.gl/Mbve

Tuesday 11/2/2010 - 127TECH Tip: Five Steps to Safer Computing - Blog Post. #1 Paswords, Passwords, Passwords! Click to see the rest!http://goo.gl/6pdV

Monday 11/1/2010 - 127TECH Tip: Facebook Users- Check out every privacy setting. Do you really want everything to be public? You can stop embarrassing slip-ups.

Five Steps to Safer Computing

1) Passwords, Passwords, Passwords!  Do you use the same password for every account?  Does your computer even have a login password?  Your first line of defense is a strong password.  A strong password contains a combination of at least letters and numbers.  A strong password generally can’t be tied to anything recognizable to you such as your grandchild’s name or birthday.  Avoid common passwords such as: password; 123456; abc123; and qwerty. 

2) Backup:  Are you backing up your data?  In our last blog post we talked about the importance of digital backups.  Here’s an excerpt:

A good backup plan is inexpensive.  It's safe, secure, and reliable.  It works automatically, so that you don't have to manually intervene.  A good backup doesn't care how much data you store in it, because it knows that tomorrow you'll have more.  I use Mozy.  It costs about $55/year.  It's encrypted.  It backs up my files at least twice a day.  It's unlimited for the home user.    It helps me avoid being a "Bad Dad."  

Why don't you try it today?  Click Here to start the service. 

3) Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware: We are joining these two together since they are so closely related. 

Anti-Virus – You need to run basic Anti-Virus protection. There are no reasons to forgo this protection because there are many great free services out there.  We’re currently recommending Microsoft Security Essentials for small business and home uses.  CLICK HERE to get this software. 

Anti-Spyware – Viruses aren’t the only bad things looking to get into your PC.  Spyware is the fastest growing threat to your PC. Try Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or SpySweeper. 

4) Update: Turn on Windows Updates to keep your PC up-to-date with the latest patches. Windows updates will download the latest security updates to protect against malware and other potentially unwanted software; Updates that improve reliability and performance; Upgrades to Windows features and Drivers from Microsoft partners.  If you want more control over this process, turn on “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download or install them.” You should also update other software such as Adobe.   

5) Encryption: This is a more advanced solution, but in today's world I highly recommend it. Do you have sensitive employee or client information on your computer? Do you have scanned copies of life insurance or stock accounts?  If so, you must encrypt it. You don't want to be responsible for letting that data escape into untrusting hands.  TrueCrypt is a great solution as it balances tough security and an easy-to-use interface.  It’s free and easy to install on any PC, Mac, or Linux machine.  

If you have any questions about the above items, please feel free to contact us.  

Don't Be the "Bad Dad"

It's safe to assume that I am the tech support guy in my house.  I am responsible for each device that has a remote, a circuit board, or a processor.  Somehow, I am even responsible for our uptime with Verizon FIOS and if our Wii Remotes have run out of batteries!  I accept this, since I am the resident geek.  What I can't accept is being the "Bad Dad."  

The "Bad Dad" is the guy who is responsible for the family pictures and their safekeeping and doesn't back them up.  The "Bad Dad" is the guy who has to look his wife in the eye and tell her that the Disneyland pictures are lost because of a power surge.  The "Bad Dad" accidentally spilled coffee on the laptop at breakfast and lost his daughter's iTunes music.  The "Bad Dad" can't find the video of his grandchild's first bike ride.  You get the idea.  

Our memories are becoming more and more digitized with photos, music and video.  They are typically stored on your computer.  It's important to back them up.  We could show study after study of how often hard drives fail, but they don't mean anything to the person who has just lost their vacation photos.  

A good backup plan is inexpensive.  It's safe, secure, and reliable.  It works automatically, so that you don't have to manually intervene.  A good backup doesn't care how much data you store in it, becuase it knows that tomorrow you'll have more.  

I use Mozy.  It costs about $55/year.  It's encrypted.  It backs up my files at least twice a day.  It's unlimited for the home user.    It helps me avoid being a "Bad Dad." 

Why don't you try it today?  Click Here to start the service.  

If you have any questions, you can contact me directly.  I really believe in backing up and the Mozy service.  It's too late to start after your hard drive has crashed.  

P.S. If you are really into statistics and why you should back up, Google has a nice batch of data that might interest you.  Click Here to read it.  

Why I Quit FourSquare

I am happy to announce that the following venues have their Mayorship up for grabs:

1) Echo Lake Elementary School

2) Glen Allen RF&P Park

3) Brookley Road Field

4) Little Venice Restaurant

5) MGM Law

6) OfficeMax - Staples Mill

7) St. Michael Catholic Church

8) The Blockhouse - BLDG 1109 on Ft Lee

9) US Post Office - Mountain Rd

10) 127TECH

I was pretty excited to start using FourSquare.  I have only been an active user for a few months.  I cancelled my account yesterday and won't go back. 

Privacy Issues

Oddly enough, I didn't have any issue with privacy.  I understood that the service would not only broadcast my location, but it might even tell the interwebs what I was doing there!. I was perfectly ok with anyone knowing where I was and what I was doing.  It was a blast and I had quite a few conversations about what was in stock at Costco. 

Frankly, anyone using FourSquare should have a reasonable expectation that their smartphone can easily track their location via the cellular signal, GPS and WiFi.  FourSquare doesn't do anything more than these other tracking methods.

Competition

I was very frustrated with the level of competition that this service fostered.  Once I became a Mayor of a location, I really needed to defend that title.  I needed to visit my venues frequently to ensure that the Mayorship wasn't stolen away from me.  I didn't need to visit the Post Office on a daily basis, but I wanted to make up reasons to get there just to check in.  I even paid attention to my driving route so that I could do a drive-by check in!

Mostly I was frustrated with myself when I found that I had left a venue and realized that I hadn’t taken the time to check in.  That in itself made me realize that I was being utterly ridiculous and obsessive about a game that didn’t really matter. 

Usability

The major issue that I have with FourSquare is that the service doesn't automatically check in for me.  I know that there are multi-tasking and privacy issues that could have serious implications for many users.  I can hear the arguments now, "I don't want FourSquare to automatically check-in for me.  What if my boss/wife/etc. sees my middle of the morning trip to Starbucks?"

Although arguments like these are valid, the programmers at FourSquare could easily put in controls that would only allow automatic check ins between certain hours or specific venues or not at all!

Why would I even want automated check ins? We're all busy.  We're running around a lot, and when we're running around we're using our smart phones to make calls, read email, play games, check stocks, etc.  Checking in with FourSquare adds one more thing to our already overloaded task list. I'm tired of leaving a venue and realizing that I didn't check in.  Even my daughter acts as a reminder to me as we leave church.  "Don't forget to check in, Dad!". I usually smile and think to myself that God must find this incredibly amusing since I just spent the better part of a Sunday morning checking in with Him. 

Best of luck to all of the Mayors out there.  Enjoy your Badges and defending your Mayorships. 

I'll see you in FourSquare 3.0.