Archive for January 2011
CES: World First Electronically Correcting Glasses
OK, this is really amazing, and is expected to cost no more that 30% more than premium bifocals or progressive lenses. You have your full, normal corrected vision until you look down. Suddenly, your center of your lens (where you are looking through) has changed to allow you to see thing up close, like the floor or the escalator you are walking onto.) Look up and in the blink of an eye everything is clear, no bifocal effect, no progressive lens. If you’re just looking straight ahead but want to read a book, slide your finger across the temple of the frame and instantly you have your reading vision back. This really is one of the most talked about things at CES, it’s made by a company called Pixel Optics and on their web site they have a little demo that in my opinion isn’t nearly as impressive as the live demo I watched from CES. Their site is here: http://bit.ly/TekChic0277
Ready to Upgrade? Get a New Smartphone Free!
Have you been using that same old cell phone for years and lately have been looking at all those iPhones, Droids (and other Androids phones) out there and have been tempted, yet at the same time find yourself a little intimidated? Let me introduce you to the new Windows Phone 7. The Windows phone is a totally different phone from the old Windows phones and quite different that the iPhone and Android phones. It has a very user friendly interface that you will quickly understand. I won’t go into a lot of detail here, but if you’re thinking about getting a phone that will not only make phone calls, but also let you send and receive text messages, check your email, go onto the Internet, listen to your music, watch a video or just check in with Facebook, keep reading.
An iPhone will cost you $200 up front and frankly has a nasty habit of dropping phone calls, an Android phone (my personal favorite) can be a little daunting for someone who doesn’t want to have to tinker with their phone.
The great news is that right now for approx. another 10 days Amazon has the BEST Window phone, the Samsung Focus for only 1 cent (ok, 1 cent isn’t free, but they do ship it to you for free.) Of course you have to sell your soul to AT&T for 2 years, but at least you’ll have a nice phone. Below is a link to a 3-minutes overview of Windows Phone 7. Take a peek at it and if you like it, go to an AT&T store to see how you like the Samsung Focus. If you like it, go home and click on this link to Amazon to get the phone: http://bit.ly/TekChic0266
Posted in Deals, News, Smartphones/Tablets | Tags: amazon, Deal, Smartphone, Windows Phone 7 | 
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CES: Asus Announces 4 Tablets
Asus at their CES (Consumer Electronics Show) press conference announced 4 new tablets. 3 running Google’s Android operating systems and one running Windows 7. One is only 7” with Android and other is 12” running Windows 7. So far no prices have been mentioned , but they surely will be less than a comparable iPad, except maybe the 12” model. Asus invented the netbook 4 years ago with their Eee PC, and is known for their high quality computer motherboards, so this is a logical next step for them. Click here to read Tech Republic’s article giving more details on these promising alternatives to Apple’s iPad. http://bit.ly/TekChic0265
Lots of New Toys Just Around the Corner
Tomorrow is the start of CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, the biggest electronics trade show of the year. It’s being held in Las Vegas and just about every manufacturer you’ve ever heard of and lots you haven’t will be there showing off what’s new and what (might) be for sale later in the year. Last year 3-D TV’s were big, this year there is expected to be a ton of iPad competitors, tablets running Android and Windows. I’ll post some of the more interesting news as it come out.
DEAL: 16GB Wi-Fi iPad for $429 with No Contract
Apple has refurbished iPads with a full 1-year warranty for only $429. This is the wi-fi only version and therefore you are not paying a monthly contract to a cell-phone company. A brand new iPad like this sells for $499, so with the extra money you can buy a nice case and maybe some apps or games.
The iPad also has Bluetooth built-in, so if you’re good with an Android phone, you can probably tether this to your phone using Bluetooth and have connectivity anywhere and not just dependent on wi-fi.
They also have the 32 and 64GB versions for $100 less than the brand new versions. Remember, any new iPad that is bought and then returned for any reason cannot be resold as new, even if they are in perfect condition. Here’s the link to the Apple store: http://bit.ly/TekChic0264
Technology and Working From Home
Working from home can be very liberating if you’re able to address the distractions and issues that working from home can bring. I will be focusing on the technology side of working from home, but there are other sites with good information on other aspects. Here are articles by others on Working from Home Guidelines, Avoiding Work at Home Distractions, Working at Home With a Baby, and Getting Housework Done When Working From Home.
Whether the telephone is the extent of the technology you use, or you work for a large company and access a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect to your company’s network and resources, there are technology solutions to make your workday easier and more efficient.
Google Voice: Do you pay for a separate phone line to work at home? Google Voice is a FREE service that will let you do away with the expense of that second line. Even if you just use your existing home number, wouldn’t it be nice to have a separate number that can be answered in a more professional manner, and could have its own voice mail? Google Voice gives you your own local phone number that you can forward to one or several phones at the same time. Your caller only sees your Google Voice number. If you don’t answer, your custom voicemail message will greet them. After they leave a message, Google voice can send you an email and even a text message with a (rough) transcript of the message. Imagine leaving the house for lunch and that an important client calls you. You can have your calls forwarded to your cell phone, or just see the text message that the client called and you can call them back immediately. Log in to your Google Voice page and play back the voice messages through your computer. If you have a cell phone running Android you can even have Google Voice take over for your cell phone’s voice mail if you like.
To make a call through Google Voice, just click the number in your contact list online (or the number in your call log) and Google Voice will first call your phone, then connect you to your party.
With Google Voice you may even be able to get a “vanity” number in your area. When you sign up you can enter a particular number string or letters you like to have in your phone number, and Google Voice will show you any and all possible combinations that are available. That’s how Kimberly Ashby of ScoobySitters.com got her phone number 512-981-PETS for her pet sitting business. See entered “PETS” and had several choices presented to her. My own phone number through Google Voice, 512-981-7835 is 981-7TEK.
To get your own Google Voice number, all you have to do is go to https://www.google.com/voice and create your account. And again, it’s FREE!
Multi-Function Printers: Though these are pretty common in today’s home offices, they’ve come a long way in the last couple of years, including improved printing quality, adding the capability to work wirelessly with your network (meaning you no longer have to have it within 5 feet of your computer,) printing directly from your digital camera’s memory card and some will even let you print to them away from home over the Internet. Oh, and did I mention that prices have dramatically dropped? Over the past several months I’ve seen several printers on sale for less than the cost of replacing the ink cartridges. This is of course because INK is where the profit is for the printer manufacturers, in fact as much as HALF of Hewlett-Packard’s total corporate profit comes from the sale of ink cartridges. Doing a little math, I found that if you have an HP OfficeJet 4315, you’re paying $13,627 per gallon for black ink. Now if you’re “lucky” enough to own an OfficeJet 7110, your price for black ink plummets to “only” $4,338 a gallon – lucky you! Well, now you know why prices for the printers have dropped.
If you don’t have a multi-function printer, you certainly should consider one. With a wireless unit you can place it anywhere in your office (or anywhere in your home for that matter.) Almost any model you purchase these days will do very good to excellent photo-quality prints if you need them, they will copy and scan to your computer, and many but not all will also fax (if you still need that capability.) Some have the ability to print on both sides of the paper (duplex) which can help save your cost of paper. It’s not hard to find a decent wireless multi-function printer for around $100, and I’ve seen them on sale for as low as $43. I usually recommend Epson or Canon printers, particularly because they are known for having really good scanners (which will result in better printouts.) If most of your printing is just black and white pages, you might consider getting a laser printer, or laser multi-function printer. Laser printers use toner (like a copy machine) rather than ink and the cost per page to print is much less than with ink-jet printers. If you do much printing, the additional cost of a laser multi-function printer will quickly be offset by the money you’ll save on toner.
Add a Second Monitor: Adding a second monitor can increase your productivity by allowing you to keep your email open in one screen while you continue to work in another. Copying and pasting from one window to another is much easier if you can have them both open at the same time. You can be doing your research in one screen and writing your notes in another. Prices on monitors have also dramatically dropped – it’s not unusual to find a 23” monitor for $140 and huge 27-28” monitors for $250.
If you have a laptop, you probably already have a connector for an additional monitor on the side or the back. If you have a desktop, you might have to add an additional video card to your system, but for general business work you can get a basic video card for $30.
Backing Up Your Data: I’ve already written an article on the importance of backing up and you’ll find it here. Whether you use a local hard drive or Carbonite or some other solution, BE SURE you’re backing up your data every day.
Speed Up Your Internet: Investigate increasing the speed of your Internet connection with your current provider, probably either your local telephone or cable company. Don’t be afraid to shop around, even though you may be “saving” money with your bundled package, you might find a better deal elsewhere. One little known option is a company called DSL Extreme. In most areas they are able to contract with the local phone company and provide service at a better price. Also, they handle the hassle of dealing with the phone company for you. If you’re after the absolute fastest speed possible, your best bet is probably with the cable company. If your telephone company offers a fiber-optic connection such as Verizon FIOS and AT&T’s U-Verse, then you might get faster speeds with them, but check them out. Most companies offer a “business grade” service for your home, which can get you faster service when there is an outage or you need to contact them for support. If you would like to know what kind of speed you’re getting at home, go to SpeedTest.net and test your connection. It’s best to do it from a computer with a wired connection to your network if you can.
Buy Smart: When it’s time to upgrade or replace your equipment, don’t just go ask the first 17 year old you see at Best Buy, check with an IT (information technology) specialist who understands your particular needs. You’ll almost always end up saving money in the long run.