My Tech Talk

News Article: Being Smart About Web Mail

Mike — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:53:54 +0000

Read Michael Horowitz’s article, originally posted on CNET News, for some good common sense practices to help secure your web mail account on Yahoo, GMAIL, Hotmail and others.

Being Smart About Web Mail

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: Email, Yahoo, Gmail, security, Internet

Learn About a Key Difference between the New Blackberry Storm and the Apple iPhone

Mike — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:28:23 +0000

Read this article from Internetnews.com to get detailed information on how the Blackberry touch screen will differ from the Apple iPhone’s:

Smartphone Success May be in the Touch

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: Blackberry, Smartphone, iPhone, Touch screen, Email, News Article

Yahoo has high hopes for calendar makeover

Mike — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:20:13 +0000

The Internet pioneer will revamp its online calendar starting Wednesday. New: subscriptions, sharing, and targeted advertisements for events.

View Original Article

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: Yahoo, online calendar, organize

Verizon officially debuts RIM BlackBerry Storm

Mike — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:12:02 +0000

Research In Motion and Verizon Wireless officially announce the first touch-screen BlackBerry, and CNET gets a hands-on look.

View Original Article

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: Blackberry, mobile device, touch screen

Election 2008: Find Senate Voting Records Online

Mike — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:14:35 +0000

Here’s a link to McCain’s Senate voting record.

Here’s a link to Obama’s Senate voting record.

Forget the hype.

Forget the spin.

Ignore the commercials, the editorials and the talking heads.

Watch the debates, but compare what is said with their past voting history.

Take a few minutes to review the Senate voting records of our 2 presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama.

The Washington Post has compiled this information on ALL members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives:

The links have additional information on the 2 men, but the voting records should provide a good indication where the candidate’s stand on a variety issues.

The Internet has put the facts at your fingertips. Reading them is up to you.

Remember to vote in November!

Technorati : Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Voting Record
Del.icio.us : Election 2008, McCain, Obama, Voting Record

CPR – Cell Phone Repair Service in the Bay Area

Mike — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:59:44 +0000

Mobile phones are more indispensable than ever. And, more expensive than ever if you’ve got a smart one that can do everything but cook dinner for you.

At any rate, the folks at CPR in San Jose, CA can help you fix that phone when you drop it or damage it. If you don’t live in the San Francisco Bay Area, then you’re still able to get a phone repaired by shipping them the damaged phone.

One of my colleagues took a few phones there and said the prices are reasonable and the service is good. Cell Phone Repair will also provide you with free estimates so that you’ll know how much money it will cost before deciding to fix it.

One of the postcards I’ve received from them states the following:

Authorized repair center for Motorola, Samsung, LG, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Sanyo.
Most repairs done on the spot.
Repairs include: Liquid damage, cracked LCD, dropped phone, shattered, no sound.
iPod repair also available.

Keep this option in mind if you’d rather pay a little to get a phone fixed instead of paying a lot to get it replaced.

Technorati : San Francisco Bay Area, mobile phone, repair
Del.icio.us : San Francisco Bay Area, mobile phone, repair

Election 2008: These Web Sites Verify the Facts

Mike — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:49:29 +0000

Voters in the 2008 Presidential elections deserve to know the facts. Candidates can get carried away with rhetoric at the expense of the facts. FactCheck.org is an unbiased web site dedicated to confirming, clarifying or denying the facts referenced in statements made by Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

As they said on the classic TV show Dragnet, “Just the facts, ma’am.”

Well, that’s all FactCheck.org cares about. They want to help voters understand the facts so that Americans are choosing a President based on substance and not style.

Another web site to visit is PolitiFact.org, which is a service of the St. Petersburg Times/CQ.

Get the facts and make an informed decision this November. Vote for the candidate that you think will help you the most, but please base your vote on substance and not style. America’s future depends on it.

Green Umbrella Offers Cheap Extended Service Plans For Electronics

Mike — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:50:16 +0000

For $9.95 per month, Green Umbrella offers ONE extended service plan to cover all kinds of electronic products in your home or office, from alarm clocks to LCD Flat Panels.

Click here for a comprehensive list of covered products.

Here’s a link to frequently asked questions about their service: FAQs

I glanced through some of the FAQs and here are some things to know:

Mobile phones are not covered.
Items that cost greater than $5000 are not covered
You must register your items to be covered with their service
You must have your original receipts to be eligible for coverage.

I have not used them myself. I thought the concept was worth mentioning for people who may want a service plan after the basic or extended warranty runs out their equipment.

If you’ve had an experience with Green Umbrella, good or bad, please share it.

If you use an alternate service that you like, I’d appreciate a comment with that info too!

Technorati : service plan, technology, warranty

Family Fantasy Sports – A Game for All

Mike — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:57:26 +0000

The NFL Football season begins tomorrow. Millions of men and women will devote hours of time each week playing fantasy football at the expense of family time.

Well, why not include them in the fun?

Fantasy football can easily be enjoyed by families, much like board games or card games.

Don’t overlook its educational possibilities either. Math skills are key to keeping score, so young children can play with an adult and practice their addition, subtraction and multiplication while spending time with Mom and Dad.

Well, now there’s a free fantasy sports site for family fun. Check out http://www.familyfantasysports.com and enjoy the best of both worlds on Sundays this Fall: Family time and football!

Recuva is Terrific Data Recovery Software

Mike — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 07:28:03 +0000

Have you ever emptied the Recycle Bin and instantly regretted it? Well, as most techies will tell you, that data can usually be recovered. With Recuva software, that task is easier than ever.

The user-friendly wizard will help guide basic users. With straightforward questions like “What sort of files are you trying to recover?” and “Where were the files?” and a list of logical answers to select, it is clear to me that the developers at Piriform know the formula for software success: Make it useful, make it easy to use and serve it for free.

Free, easy and useful? You betcha.

Once you’ve answered the questions in the wizard, the program will scan the depths of your hard drive for the lost files. Once the scan is complete, it will display the results in a sensible table with columns labeled “Filename, Path, Last Modified, Size, State, Comment.”

The “State” column contains descriptions like “excellent, very poor and unrecoverable”. This should give the user a clear idea about the data’s chances of being recovered.

The “Comment” column contains statements like, “This file has been overwritten” or “no overwritten clusters detected.”

Check out the screen shots on their web site and you’ll get the idea.

The software can also search for deleted files on media cards or in a folder or directory specified by the user.

There is also an “Advanced Mode” button for those who’d like a few additional options at their disposal.

All in all, I’m very impressed with this program. I’ll tip my hat to the folks at Piriform on a job well done. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from the folks who make the wonderful CCleaner program (also free).

Download Recuva here.

Download Ccleaner here.

Technorati : Data Recovery, Free, Recuva, Software
Del.icio.us : Data Recovery, Free, Recuva, Software