Category: ‘Whatchamacallit’

Reinstalling Windows – Originally Published February 2012

July 30, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Have you ever heard the theory that every other version of the Windows operating system is junk?  (Many people use a different word than “junk”).  I’ve used every Microsoft operating system (except for the server/network versions) since I first changed to MS-DOS from the IBM version.

Personally, I think that all of the Windows versions were OK.  They did what they were supposed to do, operate my computer system.  I’ll admit that some of them were uglier and not as efficient.  You could probably compare them to the Ford Edsel.  The car didn’t look good, but it got you where you were going.  I wonder if somewhere in the world there is somebody with a Betamax recording of the Edsel?

After 30 years, I’m thinking of becoming a Microsoft basher myself.  My theory is that the software engineers deliberately insert a “reinstall” bug in their operating systems.  For years, I’ve listened to stories about computer users that had to reinstall Windows as the only way to fix their system.

I always razzed them a little and bragged about how my computer maintenance routines were so good that I never had to reinstall.  Then it happened.  Last November my desktop froze and no amount of safe mode fiddling would cure the problem.  I checked all of my hardware to make sure it was working properly.  (I was kind of hoping that I would find justification to buy a new machine.)  Alas, it wasn’t a hardware problem.

Finally, I broke down and got out the system restore disks I had made so long ago.  Two computer years is about fifteen dog years.  The only problem with doing a factory restore is that you also reload all of the crapware.  Oh well, at least I know how to take the junk off before I install any software.  After I got my PC up and running, I restored my backup data and checked my Belarc list and reinstalled the same programs I had before.  I wanted to see if I could figure out which program caused the problem.  It never did reoccur.

Then it happened again.  A couple of weeks ago, my machine started to experience random slowdowns.  I checked all of the usual suspects.  There weren’t any Trojans, key loggers, viruses or bad memory chips.  None of the services were slowing it down.  The system wasn’t overheating.

Finally, I sucked it up and got ready to reinstall again.  It was a lot easier the second time because I restored from my Windows upgrade disk.  No crapware was installed.  This time I ended up with a much better system as I haven’t reinstalled a lot of programs that I seldom use.

Curse you Microsoft.  I know that my problems couldn’t possibly be because of anything I did.  You’ve obviously sneaked the reinstall bug into my operating system.  I’ll bet it was done during a Windows Update, probably to punish me for not choosing to do automatic updates.

I’m ready for the next time that evil hits my computer.  If it happens again, I have a system image disk ready to use.  Sadly, I can no longer say that I’ve gone more than twenty years without having to reinstall Windows.

That’s all for this month.  Thanks for reading.

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Technological New Year Resolutions – Originally Published January 2012

July 29, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve been writing this monthly column since February of 2009.  One of the things I’ve learned is that it is usually pretty hard to decide what topic to write on each month.  January is almost a gimmee topic.  Technological New Year’s Resolutions that I’m going to try and keep.

This year I’m going to try to be better at doing my data backups.  I’ve got a backup schedule, but sometimes put it off to do other things.  I know it’s not wise to do that, but sometimes I accidentally eat a stupid pill.

This year I’m going to try harder to write a monthly column for the newsletter and actually submit it in a timely manner.  I know that waiting until the last minute just makes it harder for the editor to complete the monthly bulletin.

This year, I’m going to finally finish organizing all of my electronic media.  I’ve got photo albums and pictures stored on several different hard drives.  I’m slowly getting them transferred to my big network hard drive.  I can probably delete a few thousand pictures and still have plenty left.  Do I really need more than one picture of the same scene?

I’m going to do the same thing with my music.  I’ve got a lot of CD’s.  I think that I’ve ripped some of them four or five times.  Eventually, I hope to have them all located in one place.

This year, I’m going to update my website more often.  I think I’ll steal some of Tom’s ideas and add some technical columns.  I could at least upload my Whatchamacallit and Lagniappe articles.  I’ve had WordPress set up for some time, so it is only a matter of doing it.

This year I’m going to quit downloading and installing software that I’ll probably never use.  Do I really need another digital photo editor?  Will a different media player make my mp3’s sound better?  How many file cleaners do I really need?  Then of course, there are the games I’ve downloaded, played once and forgotten about.

This year, I’m going to frequently remind all club members to help make our club a little better.  It doesn’t take much to do.  Just share your experiences with software or hardware you use.  You’d be surprised at what you know that someone else doesn’t.  Some of my favorite web sites were recommended to me by someone else.  This year, we had a presentation on Dropbox.  That convinced me to give it a try.  Now I use it all of the time.

Why don’t you write a one paragraph article for the Newsletter or Club Web Site.  Let everyone know how great or lousy that electronic device you just bought is?  Why not post a note on the club forum when you’ve found a sale where all our club members can save a few dollars?  Maybe the most important contribution you could make is letting the Club Officers know what topics you would like to hear about at the monthly meeting.  Why not make a suggestion on what you’d like to read about in the newsletter?

On a different subject, I’d like to take a paragraph and say how much I enjoyed the 2011 club Christmas meeting.  I thought the gifts were all pretty good and my wife is getting a lot of use out of mine.  I can’t believe I actually traded for a candle.  Can you tell who makes the decisions at my house?  As always, the food was delicious and the company was better.  The small crowd size was somewhat disappointing.

That’s all for this month.  Thanks for reading.

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Black Friday Shopping – Originally Published December 2011

July 25, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Bah!  Humbug!  It’s that time of the year again.  This year I had planned not to be as grumpy during the holiday season as I usually am.  I think it all goes back to when I was in the Navy.  I was a ship’s cook and ended up working almost every Thanksgiving and Christmas for more than twenty years.  Just another day in the salt mines.

My daughter and her family alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas every year with us in Lake Charles and her in-laws in Baton Rouge.  This year was Thanksgiving in the capitol.  My wife told me she wanted to go to Best Buy and wait for the opening so she could buy a TomTom GPS for the oldest Grandson.  I got the model number they were selling and did an internet search.  I found the exact same model for the same price plus free shipping.  That was a line she could easily avoid. I almost forgot to tell you the name of the online merchant with the same deal.  It was Best Buy.

After a delicious turkey dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Sulphur, I was busy relaxing in the computer room playing some online poker.  The wife came in and asked if I was sure I didn’t want to go shopping with her.  I got the hint and put on my shoes.  I was off on my first ever Black Friday shopping excursion.  With any luck at all, it will also be my last ever Black Friday experience.

Our first stop was at Toys R Us.  We had to park in the Walmart parking lot.  We got in the line which went from the door to the South side of the building.  The queue made a bunch of double backs in the parking lot and then looped around the East side of the store.  I estimate the line was about ten miles long.  It was hard to make an adequate guess, but I know it was long.  We stood in the line for about twenty minutes before the boss decided we would start at Walmart.

We got to Wally’s World about 9:30 pm.  The bicycle she wanted to buy was in the Garden Center.  It took about twenty minutes to get from the front door to the line for the bikes.  I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I think this was the only product that had an organized line to stand in and wait to make a purchase.  It actually wasn’t too much of a hassle.  I’m glad that was the only thing she wanted to buy.  The other sale items were on pallets in the aisle.  They had plastic wrapping and hand written signs telling us they were not for sale until 10:00 pm.  Shoppers were clustered around the various stacks.  For some reason, they reminded me of vultures waiting for something to die so they could feast.  I counted at least four uniformed law officers.  I’m pretty sure there were more scattered throughout the store.

After the melee at Walmart we headed over to Target for their midnight start to Black Friday.  We got their about a half hour early and got in the line which stretched back to the AT&T store.  Luckily for me, they still had their wireless turned on and I was able to download some reading material for my tablet.  When Target opened, the line moved fairly fast.  We got to enter the store about 12:30 am.  I was surprised to find how organized they were.  There were several employees on hand to direct the traffic in a semi-orderly direction. There wasn’t much crowding around the aisles.  My wife bought a few games and I bought a tin of Altoids.

I finally understand why every year, the shootings, pepper spray, stampedes and other problems occur at Walmart and hardly ever at any of the other retailers.  A little bit of organization and structure goes a long way.

When we left the store the line of people had been replaced by a line of trash along the sidewalk.  Luckily for whoever had to clean it up, there was plenty of room in the trash cans outside the various store fronts.  I’ve never liked litterers and they have just given me another reason to dislike the “Black Friday” hoopla.

Next year, my daughter will be here to go shopping with my wife.  I think I already feel a terrible headache starting.  It will probably peak on Thanksgiving Day 2013.

Thanks for reading.

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Finding Free Software – Originally Published November 2011

July 23, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve been thinking about buying a program for my computer.  Wait!  Don’t call the medics!  I haven’t lost my mind yet.  My money is still in my pocket.  I’m not in a hurry to decide if I really need it.

People who know me can tell you that I don’t normally spend my dollars for stuff I can get for free.  I guess it’s my Dutch heritage.  With three exceptions, all of the software on my computers is freeware.  Part of the purchase price of a computer is used to pay for the operating system.  I’m fairly certain that if that wasn’t so, I would be an avid Linux user today.  After all, that penguin is kind of cute.

My most recent software purchase was about a year and a half ago.  I had used Outlook for several years but replaced it instead of paying that huge upgrade fee.  Then one day, I was visiting Fort Polk and I found a copy of Microsoft Outlook 2007 for $50.  It was marked down to make room for Outlook 2010.  In a moment of weakness, I parted with some cash.  It isn’t likely that I’ll ever be upgrading the program.

My final program that I paid for was originally a shareware that I purchased for ten dollars if I remember correctly.  VuePrint is an image viewer that can also do minor editing.  I originally purchased it because I liked how fast you could view and print images.  About three years ago, the author quit updating the software and released it as freeware.  It’s still my default image viewer.  If you want to try it, you can download it here: VuePrint – Free Image Viewer

I’m getting to be a little older and kind of turning into a curmudgeon.  I don’t often look for new software, but when I do, the first place I look is Gizmo’s Freeware.  On this site you can search by software categories, do a search for a topic or you can read various lists such as all of the free software from Microsoft.  Another great feature of this web site is the Security Wizard.  By answering a few questions, you get a recommendation of which free anti-virus and other protection software is best for your computer.

Another great place to find no cost software is the Freeware Genius.  The motto of this website is “Someday all software will be free”.  Besides the free software, this site also features a list of free magazines.  Most of them are technical, but the list is extensive.  Check it out.  You might find something useful.

You can find, create and publish open source software for free at SourceForge.  Sometimes I go to this site just to check the statistics at the top of the home page.  As I write this article, SourceForge has 317,952 projects listed.  That is a lot of programs.  (I wonder if they make a hard drive big enough to hold them all?)  I’ve found that the real computer geeks hang out on this site.

A few other places to find freeware are Donation Coder, the Freeware Geeks and NirSoft.  Nirsoft is unique because it has more than a hundred programs, all written by one person.  Many of them are small utilities that are really useful.

Free software is really nice but you should remember that free lunches are pretty good too.  Neither is really free.  They just require a different kind of payment.  Some programs are scaled down versions that entice you to buy the full program.  Some require personal information.  Many of these programs are written with the hope that users will like them so much they will make a payment to the author.  I’ve done just that for some of the indispensable software I use.

If you start downloading and installing free software, be extra careful.  I recommend doing a Google search with the software name and the word “problems” or “reviews”.  If there are a lot of hits, be suspicious.  There is a lot of free stuff that comes with a free Virus or Trojan.  Download only from a trusted page.  Before you install, scan with your anti-virus program.

One last link that you can check to find some good free software links is our Club Website.  Log in and check the posts.  You can also review the older club newsletters.  A lot of freeware has been reviewed in the past.

If you’ve got a favorite free program, why not take a few minutes and let the rest of the club members know about it?  Write a short review and post it on the club’s website or send it to the Newsletter Editor.  Remember our club motto?  It is “Users Helping Users”.

Thanks for reading.

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Selling Points – Originally Published October 2011

July 23, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing the magazine shelves at Books A Million.  The latest issue of Maximum PC had one of those silly cover article teasers.  In large letters was the single word “SHOWDOWN”.  Underneath the headline, in slightly smaller block letters, was the teaser: “WE NAME THE BEST PHONES IN SEVEN CRITICAL AREAS”.  The seven critical areas were then listed:
1. Display Quality,
2. Photos and Video,
3. Chassis Design,
4. Gaming,
5. Battery,
6. Keyboard, and
7. Raw Performance.

Does anything about that list of critical cell phone areas seem strange to you?  Don’t you think that one of the critical areas of a telephone should be call quality?

Of course, that got me to thinking about how we seem to focus on less important things.  Of course, we call almost always refer to them as “critical areas”.  Ask anybody how big the hard drive in their computer is and they will probably know the answer.  Then ask them how many RPMs the disk makes, or what the seek time is, or what the data transfer rate is and you’ll likely get a blank stare.  I’d venture to guess that many salesmen in the store wouldn’t know either, but you can bet they’ll focus on the drive size.

Those same salesman will help you buy a monitor.  I guarantee they’ll focus on how big the screen is while neglecting to tell you about important things like resolution, viewing angle, response time, etc.  Although those are all “critical areas”, don’t you think the view is probably what you should focus on?

Don’t get me started on cameras.  Lots of megapixels are important, but they don’t mean you’re going to get a better picture.  Sensor size, start up time, shutter lag, image stabilization are all important.  It’s the picture quality that is important, not the cameras “critical areas”.

I think this mentality has spilled over into other facets of life.  Our politicians tell us all about the “critical areas” of government that they are going to fix.  I’d just like them to fix the important stuff.  Oops, I forgot, the only important thing to them is getting reelected.

I could probably go on for a couple of pages complaining about “critical areas” that don’t really mean much, but I’ve done enough ranting and raving for one article.  By the way, it doesn’t make much difference to me what the call quality of my phone is.  I hardly ever answer the darn thing anyway.

Thanks for reading.

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Android App Permissions – Originally Published August 2011

July 22, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve had my Archos Android tablet for six months now and I’ve formed an opinion of android applications.  There are a lot of them.  I’ve got three different app stores on my device, so I can usually find a usable program for whatever I want to do.  The only thing that is easier is finding applications for things that I don’t want to do.

The Google Marketplace is the iTunes store of the android world.  The selection of programs grows larger every day.  I can’t really say much about iTunes because Apple is one of the companies whose software I avoid installing on my machines.  Probably the biggest difference between the two is the fact that Apple has real live people preview all software before it goes on the market.  In theory, this will stop any malicious applications from ever being downloaded.  The only problematic iTunes programs I’ve read about involve misusing their customers private data.

The Apps Library is the Archos Android store.  It doesn’t have as many programs as the Marketplace, but they almost always work on my device.  I’ve noticed that many of the tablet manufacturers have their own application libraries (stores).  I imagine that is so they can get a cut of the sales.

The Amazon Android Store has been in operation for about a month now.  Every day, they feature a free app of the day.  Some of them have been useful to me.  Most of the daily offerings have been games.  Amazon says that all applications are previewed by employees.

Many applications can be downloaded directly from the developers website.  If you download directly, I recommend that you do some research and make certain that it is a safe application.

My biggest concern with downloading Android applications is that it is extremely easy to install programs that might not be in your best interests.  For example, at the June meeting when we had our first door prize drawing, I downloaded and installed a random generator app.  Later on, when I more closely checked it out, I found that I had given the app permission to modify storage, check GPS location, monitor phone calls and full internet access.  Does this simple program really need those functions?  Maybe so, but not from me.  I’ve deleted the program.

If you use Android software, I recommend that you closely check the permissions that programs request before you install them.  This is especially true for new software on the market.  Some of the permissions that could cost you money are:
a) Make Phone Calls.  This could allow an application to call a 1-900 number and charge you money.
b) Send SMS or MMS.  This could let an application send a text message on your behalf, and much like the phone call feature above, it could cost you money.

Other permissions could allow a rogue program to steal your personal data or make changes on your device that you don’t want to happen. Examples are:
a) Modify/Delete SD Card Contents will allow the application to read, write, and delete anything stored on your device’s SD card.
b) Read Contact Data is extra scary for me.  Unless an app explicitly states a specific feature that it would use your contact list for, there isn’t much of a reason tor you to allow it.
c) Full Internet Access could be the most important permission you will want to pay attention to.  For any malware to truly be effective it needs a means by which to transfer data off of your machine.  This is one of the settings it would definitely have to ask for.

Some other Android permissions that are mostly benign are:
a) Read Calendar Data.
b) Write Calendar Data.
c) Read Phone State and Identity gives an application access to three unique numbers that can identify your phone.  The numbers are the International Mobile Equipment Identity, International Mobile Subscriber Identity and a 64 bit unique ID that Google provides for the phone.
d) Fine (GPS) Location will allow an application to track where you are.
e) Modify Global System Settings allows a program to change anything you find under Android’s main ‘settings’ window.
f) Automatically Start At Boot will allow an application to tell Android to run the application every time you start your phone.  g) Retrieve Running Applications will allow an application to find out what other applications are running on your system.  Am I paranoid about the Android application security?  I don’t think so, but I’m definitely concerned enough to write an article about it for the Club Newsletter.  Like many other things on the internet, free isn’t free.  We pay for programs and services by giving the developers access to our personal data.  This information can be used for useful things like showing ads that you could use.  It could also be used for lousy things like mining every e-mail, phone number, address, etc. in your contact list.

Right now, my only Android device is my tablet.  It doesn’t have a phone or GPS.  This eliminates a lot of my concerns.  Will my next phone be Android?  I don’t know.  If Microsoft doesn’t get their mobile stuff together, I might have to make a change.

Thanks for reading.

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Why I Like Computer Clubs – Originally Published July 2011

July 22, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

One Monday last month, I told the Grandson I had to bring him home early so I could get ready for my computer meeting.  He said, “You sure go to a lot of computer meetings.”  I told him that each one was a little different.  Being just five years old, he didn’t quite grasp the difference between the regular club meetings, the staff meetings and a special interest group meeting.  Then he asked me a question that gave me the subject for this article, “Why do you like going to all of those meetings?”

I told him that it was because it gave me a chance to get out of the house and away from Grandma for a little while.  Later on, I got to thinking about his question.  Why do I enjoy the club meetings and functions?  Over the years I’ve been a member of several computer clubs.  There are many reasons that I keep joining them.

The most important thing about these computer user groups (clubs) is that they were full of people who meet to share information and to learn from each other.  Doesn’t that sound like our group?  All of them were informal groups with a common purpose of learning more about how computers operate.

Computer clubs offer a lot of knowledge and experience.  It’s almost like having tech support with a native English speaking support staff.  No matter what problem you may have, someone knows how to solve it, or where to go to find out how.

A computer user group gives you something better to do than staring at the wall.  The meetings are a fun method of learning something new.  Even though I’m fairly knowledgeable on many aspects of computing, there are so many times I get a new tidbit.

Our computer group has a monthly newsletter.  I’ll admit that I like to run my mouth and the newsletter gives me a chance to write about something that I like to talk about . It’s even more fun when someone tells my they particularly liked one of my articles.

Computer users groups are a fun place to meet new people.  Since I’ve joined the SWLAPCUG, I’ve learned from a professional photographer, a tax accountant, a Better Business Bureau professional, several writers, programmers, web authors, and many others.

The club has an easy to use website that gives me an excellent place to output more of my ramblings.  It is a great place to tell everyone about internet links they should check.

Where else can you get all of this and more for only two dollars a month?  The annual membership fee is less than you would pay for one computer class anywhere else.  Sometimes, that means we teach each other how to use Dropbox.  Other times, it means teaching how to use the Internet more effectively, to use a photo editing program, how to take digital pictures or how to research your family tree.  These are topics for ordinary people, not things for programmers.

Now that I’ve told you why I like the SWLAPCUG, I’m going to take a few more minutes of your time an tell you how you can help make our computer club even better.

Why not contribute an article to this newsletter?  Do you have a favorite program that you think would be useful to other computer users?  Take a few minutes and tell everyone about it.  Not only that, but Lane will really appreciate it too.

Why not bring a friend to one of our monthly meetings?  You can impress them with how smart you are by being a member of our club.  They just might decide to join and then we would all benefit.

Have you found a great website that everyone should know about?  Found a great deal on a new computer?  Heard a funny story that you just can’t wait to tell?  Have a computer question that can’t wait for the club meeting?  Why not post on our website.  It only takes a few minutes and is just the thing that would generate more interest in our club.

Thanks for reading.

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Gadgets I Can Do Without – Originally Published June 2011

July 19, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Back in the last century, I had a nifty little electronic gadget on my keyring.  It did only one thing.  If you pushed the button, it would indicate if there was a wireless network in range.  Back then, most networks were not secure and it was easy to get online.

Electronic gadgets have come a long way since then.  Many people have there own favorite gadget, everything from a remote control to a robot that vacuums the floor.  Even the military has gadgets they use to blow up things.  In my opinion, many of them are useless.  There are many new technologies others have that I just don’t care about.

By now I bet you’ve figured out that this article is going to be about some high-tech devices that I can live without.  The cell phone might be one of the most annoying gadgets ever.  I got my first cell phone about five years ago.  When I first moved to Louisiana, my daughter put the wife and me on her family plan and gave us both a phone.  Even people that can’t live without a cell phone would have to admit that they are often annoying beyond human endurance. The photos and movies they take can lead to all kinds of problems.  They can be awful scary.  When driving, you have to watch out for the cell phone packing motorist.  When carrying one, you have to worry about being tracked.  When using one, you have to worry about the controversial possibility that the thing is slowly cooking your brain.  There isn’t a whole lot of privacy any more.  Don’t you just love it when you’re sitting in a movie and someones cell phone rings?  After all of the ranting, I have to tell you that I’ve put myself in a position where I can’t live without the darn thing.  I’ve carried a pocket PC for years.  Everyone says they have a cell phone.  I tell people that I have a pocket PC with phone capabilities.  If an incoming call is not in my contacts list, it goes straight to my voice mail.  I don’t need to sign up for the National No Call Registry.  If I don’t know who is calling, I just don’t answer the darn thing.

The miniature keyboard is something I can do without.  One of the attractions of my pocket PC (cell phone) was the great keyboard.  I even wrote an article for the club newsletter on the thing.  Since then, I have hardly pulled it out.  Usually, it is just not worth the effort.  A while back, I received an e-mail that closed, “Sent from my mobile phone.  Please excuse any typos.”  As Colonel Potter often said on MASH, “Horse hockey!”.  (Once he changed it to “Cow cookies”).  I’m sorry, but I am not buying in to the notion that I should forgive poor grammar, bad spelling, or indecipherable texting because the sender is using a device with a lousy keyboard.

I think the Web cam is one of the dumbest inventions ever.  Why in the world would I or anyone else want to show the world how they look in the morning?  Why should I have to put on a shirt before sitting down to my computer?  Why should I have to feel that big brother is constantly peering over my shoulder?  You can turn the darned things off, but are you sure that electronic eyeball staring you in the face is really off?

You don’t see electronic pagers much anymore.  The last time I saw one, I was at a local restaurant.  They paged you when it was your turn to give them some of your money.  Talk about making you feel important. “Dr. Tiny, we have your table prepared with some surgical instruments.  Please come to the check in counter.  We’re finished testing your patience level.  Remember to bring your useless gadget.”

Speaking of useless gadgets, how effective can a battery powered robot that automatically vacuums the floor be?  Can that Roomba do a good job as small as it is?  Maybe if you got one of those robot doggies, you could use your Roomba as a robot doggie pooper scooper.

I’m still undecided whether or not I like dedicated e-readers.  My Archos tablet has e-book software that works pretty good for me.  The advantages that I miss out on are being able to read in bright sunlight and a much longer battery life.  Since I am seldom out of the shade for very long and I’ve got plenty of electric outlets, I’m not too worried.  I don’t have a dedicated e-reader, but I can not only read a book, but write one, listen to the radio and play a game or two.

I quit smoking a few years ago.  Lately, I’ve seen advertisements for an electronic cigarette. I’m pretty sure that’s another gadget that will end up in the junk drawer next to the key chain camera, the electric knife and the clapper.

I’ve got to go now. I’ve been busy searching the internet for a new gadget.  I’ve been looking for a Swiss Army Knife with USB capabilities.  I hope I can find one that is upgradeable.

Thanks for reading.

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Dropbox – Originally Published May 2011

July 19, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

Last month, before the club meeting started, there was a discussion about Dropbox.  Someone asked what Dropbox was and everyone else answered, all of them differently.  A week later, at the staff meeting, someone asked how to set up Dropbox folders, and everyone gave a different answer.  At Woody’s SIG meeting, another Dropbox discussion was held, with the same differences of opinions.

What is this Dropbox thing? How do you use it?  Must you be on a cloud for it to work properly?  It sure is a good thing you downloaded the newsletter this month, because I’m going to answer all of your questions.  Maybe I’ll just answer some of your questions.  If you’re really lucky, you might get a question answered.

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere.  This means that any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website.  Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others, whether you’re a student or professional, parent or grandparent.  Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear!  You can relax knowing that Dropbox always has you covered, and none of your stuff will ever be lost.

Dropbox works hard to make sure that all your files are the same no matter where you’re working from.  This means that you can start working on a computer at school or the office, and finish from your home computer.  Never email yourself a file again!  Download Dropbox for your phone to simplify your life even more – flip through all your photos or review that spreadsheet even while on the road.  Dropbox lets you work from any computer or phone with the confidence that you’ll always have everything you need.

Dropbox makes sharing so easy that you’ll be amazed at the things you can do.  Invite your friends, family and teammates to any folder in your Dropbox, and it’ll be as if you saved that folder straight to their computers.  You can send people links to specific files in your Dropbox too.  This makes Dropbox perfect for team projects, sharing party photos with friends, or recording your band’s new album.

Even if your computer has a meltdown, your stuff is always safe in Dropbox and can be restored in a snap.  Dropbox is like a time machine that lets you undo mistakes and even undelete files you accidentally trash.  Your Dropbox is always ready for action from the Dropbox website too!

People around the world rely on Dropbox to help them design buildings, compose music, run businesses, write books and even coordinate disaster relief.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a teacher, a photographer or an astronomer, an artist or an activist, Dropbox simplifies your life.

There you go. Aren’t you glad you read all that information?  Now you know everything there is to know about Dropbox.  How can I be so positive you have all the knowledge?  The answer is simple.  I copied everything word for word from the Dropbox website.

My point in this article is that Dropbox is whatever you want it to be.  When you sign up for Dropbox, you have to download and install it on your computer.  A new Dropbox folder is created.  Any file that you put in this folder is copied to your Dropbox folder in the cloud (remote server).  If you install Dropbox on any other computer, your phone, your tablet, etc. a local Dropbox folder will be installed on that device and the files on the Dropbox server will be copied to it.  If you make changes to any files in the Dropbox folder, the same changes will occur in every Dropbox folder that you have created.  You can also go to Dropbox in a web browser to edit your files.

Initially, Dropbox gives you 2GB of storage space.  There are several methods of getting more free space.  You can also purchase extra space.  That is plenty of space for word files, etc.  Unless you buy extra space, don’t plan on uploading a lot of pictures or media files.

The main use of Dropbox is synchronizing files between computers, but there are a lot of other uses for it.  I’m not going to list them all here.  If you Google “unusual Dropbox uses”, you’ll see more than nine million reasons why.

Personally, I don’t use Dropbox a whole lot.  The only reason I first signed up was so that someone else would get more space in their Dropbox.  Lately, I’ve started to use Dropbox much more often.  For instance, I’ve been keeping my newsletter articles in my Dropbox folder . That way I can work on an article from whatever computer I’m sitting at.

I you’d like to give Dropbox a try, signing up is simple.  There is only four blocks to fill in: first name, last name, e-mail address and password.  Here is the Dropbox sign up link.  If you use this link, Dropbox will give me more free space.

Thanks for reading!

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Planned Obsolescence – Originally Published April 2011

July 18, 2014 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

After a year of cult worship of the iPad, the iPad 2 is now being sold.  There isn’t a lot of difference in the two models.  The iPad 1 is now $100 less than before (but I’m sure consumers weren’t being gypped before the price reduction).  The new model has a couple of cameras and a dual core processor.  The technology was available a year ago.  Why didn’t they use it then?

When I read about the iPad 2, I was reminded of a MAD magazine article I read about thirty years ago.  It was a satire of Thomas Edison.  There was a picture of him in his lab working on the phonograph.  On the shelves behind him was a reel to reel tape recorder/player, which at that time was the latest audio technology.  The caption said that Edison didn’t get rich by patenting his best products right away.

Ever notice when you buy a new phone, there will be a new model or major update long before you complete the contract?  Same thing for computers.  You can bet that within two months of buying one, there will be a better model released.  Even though it sometimes appears suspicious, I don’t believe that companies would stoop so low as to profit by withholding their best.  I think they bend even lower.

How old is your cell phone?  Does it work as good as it did when you first bought it?  How much longer do you think you’ll be using it?  How about your cassettes.  Do you still listen to them?  Maybe you listen to your phonograph records instead.  No?  It must be the reel to reel tapes that you like to listen to.  Why is it that you can buy a new computer, set it up and find that it is already out of date?

The answer to all of those questions and many more like it is planned obsolescence.  That is why so many things work great until about the time the warranty expires?  I think it is because companies deliberately design their products to fail early.  Is it a coincidence that printers quit printing when the ink is low, but not empty.  Doesn’t it seem that a lot of software isn’t compatible with prior programs or files?  Didn’t automobiles made fifty or sixty years ago last a lot longer than modern cars?

It isn’t just electronics technology that manufacturers plan to become obsolete.  Textbooks are revised every year even though with most topics there isn’t much change in the subject material.  When I was younger, my Mother had a Hoover canister vacuum cleaner that she must have used for at least twenty years.  These days, it seems like my wife needs to replace the vacuum every three years or so.  The cuckoo clock in my living room is at least 100 years old.  I wonder if I could buy a new model that would last as long.

I could probably rant on for another ten pages or so, but I think you probably know what I mean.  Companies plan for their products obsolescence so they can make more profit by selling new stuff.  Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Now that I think about it, it’s not just manufacturers that plan for obsolescence.  After all, next month this column will be obsolete.

Thanks for reading.

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