Are you shopping for a tablet, notebook, or desktop?

Folks, I don’t usually ‘plug’ a particular store, but this sale has some deals worth considering.. if you’re in the market.

Click on image if interested..

The store is TigerDirect (who I use rather frequently) and to see this “100” items, click here. While you’re there, you might want to check their other clearance sale as well …

Note: There are Windows 7 units in there..

(And did you see the 23″ monitor deal?)

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

What? More Facebook? | Inside Your PC

Yes, folks. A bit more on Facebook…

• Facebook: What happens to active users when jobs come back?

“There may be an inverse relationship between jobs and Facebook growth. In other words, more jobs may mean less Facebook time.” Read more..

(I like that optimism.)

Really busy again today, so how about a quick repost of a good article you may have missed.

What The Inside Looks Like…

Today’s article is going to be just a little bit different, and it will be ‘short and sweet’. On several recent onsite repair jobs, I have opened the computer’s side panel and heard the client exclaim, “that’s all that’s in there? I was expecting more.. more.. stuff.” I am always bemused by people’s reactions when they look inside a PC for the first time.
(Yes, there’s a lot of open space inside a desktop PC. Laptop’s are different, and every nook is filled.)

So today – for those of you who have never seen the insides of a computer – I provide two simple photos: inside a desktop, and inside a laptop. (Your configuration will have some differences..)

Fairly high-end desktop (aka “loaded”), yours may not have so much in there..

Inside a laptop

Today’s quote: “Remember, men need laughter sometimes more than food.” ~ Anna Fellows Johnston

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Gorilla Glass | Kewel Desktop Clock (with weather) | More

Several items have been brought to my attention recently, via reader comments and emails, which are worthy of your attention. First up, “gorilla glass”.

Are considering getting a new mobile device? One that might be dropped? Or kept in the same pocket/purse as your car keys (aka “where it might get scratched”)? Or perhaps, will be mostly in the care of a young person/child?
If so, you might want to make sure the gadget you’re considering has a screen made with “gorilla glass”.

Why do I want Corning® Gorilla® Glass on my devices? “Scrapes, bumps, and drops are a fact of life, but Gorilla Glass enables your device to resist damage from the abuses that come with everyday use. Gorilla Glass also has strong aesthetic appeal. It’s thin, lightweight, and cool to the touch – enabling the sleekest designs.”

Clicking on the gorilla picture will take you to Corning’s gorilla glass FAQ page; and their list of vendors and products which use the tough screen glass is here. (I was pleased to discover my smart phone was listed..)

~     ~     ~

Now that Winter is coming, keeping a “weather eye” on the forecast seems a bit more.. prudent. Having it displayed on your Desktop would make that easy. I am not a fan of “weatherbug” and some of the others (I view as adware and a resource hog.. but others, including CNET give it good reviews. You can see that, and download it here), and don’t really have any good alternative suggestion for a free app (or widget) except for maybe HTC Home.

I don’t think this will give you emergency warnings of impending tornadoes, but does give the basics in an attractive way.
I hope someone will leave a comment with their fave free ‘weather widget’..

~     ~     ~

Learning By Video: Perhaps you might like to forward this to someone you know..

If so, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y&ob=av3e. (You’ll probably also want to send them Tip: Bcc Protects Private Email Addresses. Who know? Maybe.. you can FINALLY get through to them?)

Today’s free download: Are you a skim reader? It’s up above!

Today’s quote: “The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” ~ Lily Tomlin

Have a good weekend, everybody! (And my thanks to those who wrote in.)

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Winners | Friday Fun | My New Tablet Is Not A Tablet

I have mentioned here that I am intrigued by the new “tablet” PC’s (ala the iPad) but have held off, waiting for better capabilities at a better price. Amazon’s new Kindle “Fire” (check it out here) seemed at first glance to be the first to fit that criteria, and got my interest going — but I will not buy the first release of any product, and will wait for version 2.

My need for a portable, and the lack of really good tablet (yet) had me looking at netbooks again. Remember netbooks? The most hyped product – sure to change the game – of just a couple years ago?
I never did get one. Too underpowered, and I didn’t like the small keyboards.

It so happened that I saw in my local gizmo and gadget store a Limit One Per Customer deal (always a good indicator of a bargain) for a 15.6″ laptop (aka “notebook”) for $230. The same price as netbooks go for these days. So I got one. (An eMachines EM443). I repeat: $230.

For a mobile device, it’s big (deliciously big when Netflix watching) true enough, but it’s quite light .. and I’m not trying to fit it in a purse. (When I’m really “on the go”, my HTC smartphone is in my pocket.) Battery life. Big bright screen. Optical drive. Full-size keyboard. Windows 7 Home Premium. Build in webcam. I figure, why settle for a crimped little netbook? Or a tablet that mainly only lets you view (or “surf”)? With a stripped-down OS..

Winners announced: The folks at Novosoft generously donated 7 licenses for Handy Backup Standard to me, to award to my readers. I sincerely thank them for that.

“Handy Backup is an easy-to-use backup software designed to perform automated backup of your computer. User-friendly interface and a rich set of backup features make it one of the best PC backup software for home and small office use.“

The lucky winners are….

(Winners, check your Inbox [and maybe your Junk folder] for the Subject HBStandard Winner)

Friday Fun:

The weekend is almost here. Yay!

Today’s quote: “The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.” ~ George F. Will

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Laptop Power Plan Settings And You*

Yesterday it came to my attention, in a rather distressing way, that my laptop’s battery had gotten too low –> my screen went black and the fan stopped. I looked at my power button and the blue LED was not lit. In a word, my laptop was “off”. (Or, dead.)

http://techcoquette.com/

My first thought was “*Cripe!* What happened?! What button did I press!?!”.. as I had been happily typing away mere milliseconds ago. Chatting on IM, I confess.

After my initial panic, and my heart started beating again, I pressed the power button and nothing happened — which I know is an indicator that the battery does not hold enough charge for a safe boot up… (or, laptop is dead) and I realized that I had been running on battery for longer than I had thought.
So I took my laptop and plugged it in to the wall outlet.

The blue power LED came on, and Windows tried to load, and then gave me the white-text-on-black-screen “Windows did not shut down properly. Select a …”
I told it to “Start Normally” (the default), and luckily it did so. Computers don’t like sudden power interruptions, and sometimes such events can corrupt Windows beyond simple repair. Which is “bad”.

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See, I had been operating under a misconception: I thought my laptop would warn me when my battery was getting low.. and I thought that if I let it get too low, it would automatically do a shutdown process – that it was programmed to do so.
Because sudden “off” is bad.
(And suddenly disappearing from a chat is rude.)

Well, yes, Windows laptops are supposed to. But I was using a “Power Plan” option that – to me, “must have” – setting was not enabled. Here’s how I turned it on again: Advanced Power Plan Settings.

1) Double-click the battery icon (down by the clock) or press Windows key+X to open the Mobility Center and double-click the battery icon (see, Travelers’ Tips for Maximum Laptop Battery Life).

2) click “More power options”.

3) click “Change advanced power settings”.

4) Scroll down until you see “Battery” and click the little “+” sign.

5) Click the little “+” sign next to “Critical battery action”
This is what you want your laptop to do when your battery becomes “critically” low.. and sudden off is imminent.

6) Locate the “On battery” option. Click on “do nothing”, and change it to “Shut down” – then click Apply.
Then “OK” your way out of those windows. You are done. Now your laptop will do a nice, safe, proper shutdown when your battery gets too low.. instead of the sudden black of a dangerous “off”.

Note: by default you have three “power plans”. I happened to be in “ultra-turbo full speed ahead” mode (aka “High performance”) so I needed to modify that one, but it pays to check all three!

That was drama I could have done without…

* Orig post: 9/11/2010

Bonus!

Today’s quote: “Where you find quality, you will find a craftsman, not a quality-control expert.” ~ Robert Brault

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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Fix Laptop Low Battery Shutdown

Yesterday it came to my attention, in a rather distressing way, that my laptop’s battery had gotten too low –> my screen went black and the fan stopped. I looked at my power button and the blue LED was not lit. In a word, my laptop was “off”. (Or, dead.)

http://techcoquette.com/

My first thought was “*Cripe!* What happened?! What button did I press!?!”.. as I had been happily typing away mere milliseconds ago. Chatting on IM, I confess.

After my initial panic, and my heart started beating again, I pressed the power button and nothing happened — which I know is an indicator that the battery does not hold enough charge for a safe bootup… (or, laptop is dead) and I realized that I had been running on battery for longer than I had thought.
So I took my laptop and plugged it in to the wall outlet.

The blue power LED came on, and Windows tried to load, and then gave me the classic white-text-on-black-screen “Windows did not shut down properly. Select a …”
I told it to “Start Normally” (the default), and luckily it did so. Computers don’t like sudden power interruptions, and sometimes such events can corrupt Windows beyond simple repair.

---

See, I had been operating under a misconception: to wit, I thought my laptop would warn me when my battery was getting low.. and I thought that if I let it get too low, it would automatically do a shutdown process – that it was programmed to do so.
Because sudden “off” is bad.
(And suddenly disappearing from a chat is rude.)

Well, yes, Windows laptops are supposed to. But I was using a “Power Plan” option that – to me, “must have” – setting was not enabled. Here’s how I turned it on again:

1) Double-click the battery icon (down by the clock) or press Windows key+X to open the Mobility Center and double-click the battery icon (see, Travelers’ Tips for Maximum Laptop Battery Life).

2) click “More power options”.

3) click “Change advanced power settings”.

4) Scroll down until you see “Battery” and click the little “+” sign.

5) Click the little “+” sign next to “Critical battery action”
This is what you want your laptop to do when your battery becomes “critically” low.. and sudden off is imminent.

6) Locate the “On battery” option. Click on “do nothing”, and change it to “Shut down” – then click Apply.
Then “OK” your way out of those windows. You are done. Now your laptop will do a nice, safe, proper shutdown when your battery gets too low.. instead of the sudden black of a dangerous “off”.

Note: by default you have three “power plans”. I happened to be in “ultra-turbo full speed ahead” mode (aka “High performance”) so I needed to modify that one, but it pays to check all three!

That was drama I could have done without.

Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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5 Tips for Prevent Laptop-Related Injuries and Eye Strain*

Folks, a reader sent me an e-mail suggesting an article idea. I found that they had pretty well written out a whole article, so I asked permission to share it with you “as is”. Aplus Computer Aid has me jumping lately, so, here it is… (I particularly like #3..)

5 Tools to Prevent Laptop-Related Injuries and Eye Strain

The increased use of laptops has resulted in greater computer-related injuries. Ergonomics experts warn about laptop related injuries. Laptops are inherently non-ergonomic because keyboard and monitor are fixed together – if the keyboard is in a suitable position for the user, the screen is not and if the screen is optimal the keyboard isn’t. In addition, the portability of laptops makes it worse by allowing the user to use it anywhere in bed and on the floor in all kinds of incorrect postures under a poor lighting condition.

Users are more vulnerable to computer related injuries and health problems such as Repetitive Strain Injury, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, eye strain, blurred vision and back pain when they are using a laptop than a desktop computer. You may want to take additional safety precautions and tools when you’re using a laptop. The five following tools help you prevent injuries and enhance productivity while using a laptop.

1. Text-to-mp3 conversion tool. You can use text-to-mp3 software to convert long documents, emails and blog articles to mp3 files, which you can listen while resting eyes, commuting or doing chores. Here are some free online text to mp3 file converters. www.vozme.com (choose Female voice option for better sound quality). SpokenText offers both free online conversion and a Firefox plug-in at www.spokentext.net (requires a registration). Another alternative is Next2Go www.text2go.com (US$25)

2. Speech recognition. You can control the computer and browse the web or have your computer compose email or write a document with your voice instruction while resting your hands and even eyes. Windows Vista and 7 have built-in speech recognition function. www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuAH1WzVkEI&NR=1 (demo), and www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLj4k3x0E0E (demo)

3. Break reminder. Taking breaks are essential in computer-related injury prevention. You can try break reminder software for laptop, which is uniquely optimized for laptop users. www.lalarm.com/en/health_alarm.htm (free for personal use)

4. OLED (organic light emitting diode). OLED is an eye-friendly and paper-like display technology. OLED doesn’t have eye-annoying backlight like LCD does. Laptops equipped with OLED are coming soon- finally next year. Meantime, anti-glare filter can be used to reduce glare from the glossy laptop screen.

5. External keyboard and mouse. An external keyboard can fix the laptop inherent ergonomic problem. It would be even better if the keyboard is ergonomically designed.

References:

· “Is your laptop damaging your health?” ~ CNET

· “When Your Laptop Is a Big Pain in the Neck” ~ The Wall Street Journal

· “Computer-related injuries” ~ Victoria State government (Australia)

* Orig post: 11/30/09

Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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