Tag Archives: advice

How To

When it comes to home computers, k.i.s.s. and forget it

I’ve been learning a hard lesson these past few weeks, as my parents go through a time of computer trouble, and since I’m the one who purchased their computer equipment and set up their network, it’s up to me to get things right again.

What’s the lesson, you ask? As encapsulated in the title of this post, and as I’ve been yelling it at myself in quiet moments, it’s: keep it simple. 

Here’s how their setup looks:

  1. Cable internet connection
  2. Wireless router
  3. Vonage box hooked up to router, in turn hooked up to phone w/ answering machine, and multi-function printer/fax/copier/scanner
  4. Same multi-function printer/fax/copier/scanner also hooked up to router because it’s networkable
  5. Older desktop hooked up to router, another printer through parallel port, and to the multi-function machine through the network
  6. Laptop with wireless card, using the wireless router, configured to the networkable multi-function machine through the network

Where should I begin? Gee, let me start with WPA. Why? Because that’s how I had their wireless router set up. And every time something happened with the connection, they either couldn’t find the passphrase, or for some reason the laptop’s card didn’t feel like connecting to the router. Lesson learned: ditch encryption, just set up MAC filtering. That way, they can connect on the go, and don’t have to bother with WEP or WPA, which is a real hassle unles you’re a geek. Plus, with MAC filtering, unless someone can spoof a MAC address, they can’t connect to the network. And if they can spoof a MAC address, there’s a good chance they know how to get in even if encryption is enabled. Yes, I know the traffic can be sniffed if the encryption isn’t enabled, but who cares? Even WPA encryption can be sniffed and decrypted with readily available utilities. So why bother with it?

As I banged my head against the wall, I rued the day I set up their multi-function machine through the network. Why? Because if you have to delete it and re-install the printers, or you have to re-format the OS (Thanks, Windows, for the crappy OS, and thanks, driver manufacturers, for the horrible, latrine-worthy job you do writing those drivers – for all devices, not just printers!) you can never find the machine on the network so you can re-configure it, and you spend hours re-setting it to factory defaults through the printer’s LCD menu, then hunting for it on the network. Have you ever tried to walk someone through a printer’s LCD menu when you can’t remember the options, and they’re not familiar with it? It’s not fun. Lesson learned: install through USB, and set up local printers.

Quick question: if you unplug your printer’s or computer’s network cables from the wireless router, can you plug them into the IP telephony router? I guarantee you your parents or friends won’t know the difference, and they’ll plug them into it, then wonder why they can’t get on the Internet or connect to their printer. Lesson learned: forget IP telephony devices like Vonage. It may be cool for us youngsters to brag about how we slashed our phone bill by switching to Vonage or just using Skype, but it’s not cool for your parents when they can’t receive phone calls or faxes. (Yes, I’m talking to you, Vonage, with your awkward and arcane programming steps (or rather, button dances) so I can get my printer to send/receive faxes through your connection! Forget that!) Just set your parents up with a dedicated fax machine, plugged into a wall phone outlet, then sit back and relax, because they won’t call about it! And it’s the same with the phone! Leave it plugged into the wall! Forget saving $5 or $10 a month just for IP telephony. It’ll cost you and your parents much more in stress when their phone doesn’t work.

When my parents lost data because their laptop crashed and had to be reformatted, I realized the value of setting them up with automatic, regular data backup, the kind that just works. You know, you don’t think twice about setting up backups in the server room, but somehow you think the data on your laptop or desktop will take care of itself… Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t come with an easy backup program. Lesson learned: buy a big external hard drive, and set up automatic, regular backup jobs to it. It’s preferable to get a drive that comes bundled with a backup utility. Have any of you used the Windows Backup utility? What a stinker! How do you edit scheduled jobs? First, you can’t edit their every aspect after you’ve created them, and second, who’d think to look under a completely different app, called Scheduled Tasks, to find them there? Really, would anyone other than a geek know that? Why in the world aren’t the jobs available for editing within the Backup utility? It’s just plain dumb design.

As I had to re-educate my parents about the various ways of doing things on the computer, I came to realize (duh!) that I should have spent more time training them at the outset. Yeah, it seems like a no-brainer now, but back when you’ve just spent a couple of days transferring all their stuff and settings from the old computer onto the new one, do you really feel like spending another half day training them on the new machine? No, you just sit them down in front of it, point out the highlights, and tell them to enjoy it! Well, you pay for it later. Lesson learned: spend time training the user at the outset – you’ll avoid problems down the road. And define simple pathways for them, stuff like:

  1. This is where you save your documents.
  2. This is where your email archive gets stored.
  3. This is how your email account is set up. Make sure the settings stay this way!
  4. This is how to back up your bookmarks.
  5. These are the passwords and simple access instructions for the firewall, router, computer accounts, etc.
  6. This is where the photos get stored. Use this application to manage them. Download the photos from your digital camera this way…
  7. This is where the music gets stored. Use this application to manage it. This is how to sync the iPod…
  8. This is where the videos get stored. Use this application to download the videos from your camcorder to the computer. Here’s a simple way to make a DVD from a video…

It’s stuff like this that saves you countless headaches. If you need to, make screen-capture movies and put them on a “how to” DVD for them. Or write instructions, with screenshots. But make it simple, or you’ll pay for it!

Finally, as I troubleshooted why the laptop kept crashing because of obscure driver errors (everything was up to date, and the latest driver versions were installed), I learned the following three things:

  1. Buy a good brand. Don’t get a cheap brand. My parents have an Averatec laptop. That thing clonked out from the start. It was supposed to be able to output video to a TV through an S-video port, and it wasn’t even able to do that. When I called Averatec support, their advice, right off the bat, was to reformat the laptop. Great, the panacea fix used by all lazy tech support people! Then, after the 1-year warranty expired, it started to crash unexpectedly, even though there were no viruses and no spyware on the computer. It didn’t have any weird applications installed, either, just mass apps like Office, Firefox, iTunes, Picasa. So, don’t buy Averatec.
  2. Get an extended support plan. Don’t get cheap when you shouldn’t! Get that support plan, and make sure it includes accidental damage coverage, as well. You’ll be thanking yourself when you have someone to call if the hardware goes bad, or you need help with the system.
  3. Don’t buy Windows. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? But it’s true. People who aren’t geeks need a simple operating system that’s not fragile – one that doesn’t crash or is susceptible to hundreds of thousands of viruses and malware. Windows may be good for developers who are shackled to it by the work they do (like me), and it may work fine at the office, (where you have a Help Desk department, and you’ve got an industrial-strength firewall and anti-virus thin clients pushed out to all the client computers, with the latest virus definitions,) but it’s not good at home – not for people who are at a loss when they need to tell a bad file apart from a good file. The choice becomes pretty simple: Mac OS! Just get a Mac for your parents, or tell your non-geek friends to get one. Then, when they don’t call you to complain that it keeps crashing, you’ll get some time to pat yourself on the back.

I hope this helps you streamline your work as you set up your parents’ or your friends’ machines. I sure wish someone shoved this under my nose when I started to set up my parents with new computer equipment.

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Lists

Oldies, but goodies

As news go, these are weeks, and even months-old, but they sure are good. Stumbled onto them in a folder full of bookmarks. Enjoy!

  1. Full of nostalgia for the 80’s? Try Engadget, cca. 1985.
  2. Want to donate your old computer? Better wipe that drive first!
  3. The generational gap can be seen in the workplace, too. Seriously, it’s rude to get up and walk out in the middle of a conversation.
  4. Kawaii Not – the web comic for cute gone bad! Cute indeed, and witty to boot!
  5. Want to get a small PC?
  6. The 25 worst tech products of all time, according to PC World.
  7. Ever thought of public spaces as dance floors? “You’ve got to move it, move it… MOVE IT!”
  8. Check out photos of Chicago from the 40’s to the 90’s.
  9. Want to get the scoop on classic movies? Then check out Reel Classics.
  10. In love with USB? Check out this list of flashy USB accessories, like a bra with a USB clasp.
  11. Want the latest in wiretapping devices?
  12. How will the newspaper look in just a few short years?
  13. You thought invisibility cloaks were a sci-fi thing, right?
  14. Great advice on advancing your career as you start over, move, take a part-time job or have money problems.
  15. Video sites, comically analyzed and summarized.
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How To

How to choose a camcorder

If you’re interested in purchasing a camcorder, this guide will help you decide what to get when you look at the dizzying array of products out there.

At the moment, the industry is “in the 80’s”, caught between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios, and standard and high-definition video. The HDV, 16:9 camcorders are still expensive, while the standard 4:3 camcorders are months to years behind the technology curve. There are some mongrel/hybrid models out there, that offer a mix of standard to high-def recording, on both 4:3 and 16:9 aspects.

To make things more complicated, there are multiple high-def formats: 480p, 780p, 1080p. There are also multiple media: Hi8, DV, miniDV, DVD, miniDVD, and hard drive. Each kind of media has its pros and cons. Finally, there are multiple connections: Firewire, mini-DVI, S-video, RCA, etc. There are caveats with each connection, and the quality of the video output varies with each, even on the same model camcorder.

So, how do you make sense of all this nonsense? Well, my recommendations are:

  • 16:9 aspect ratio (the extra width to the picture truly makes a difference, and allows you to compose your shots a lot better)
  • HDV (780 or 1080p, preferably the latter)
  • Firewire or mini-DVI connector
  • MiniDV or hard drive media

I should mention that some people like the convenience of storing directly on DVD – just realize that if you do that, it’s harder to edit the video. You have to import it to the computer from the DVD or the camcorder, then edit it, which is a slower process overall, plus most DVD media isn’t reusable, etc. Also, if your camcorder will record to mini-DVDs, realize that some DVD players won’t be able to play them, in particular the slot-loading ones that you find on Apple computers or some in-car entertainment systems.

You should also look for a good optical zoom, low-light capabilities, and optical image stabilization. Good, intuitive controls should also be present, and it’d be nice to have good battery life as well.

If you’re more than an amateur/home videographer, then you should look at the capability to use different lenses, and the presence of relevant physical controls directly on the camcorder’s exterior. You probably also want to look at the ability to switch between different frame rates.
Before you go out there and try to find a camera with all these features, realize the market’s in disarray, and you’ll be disappointed if you look for a camera that has it all. A camera that has my list of desired features will cost over $1,000 at the moment, and that’s out of reach for many people.

CNET’s put together a camcorder guide which will help you narrow down your choices, and my advice is to look through that as well. On their site, they also have reviews of many camcorders. Just realize that the editors are people, and the reviews are subjective, in particular the video reviews. I remember viewing one where the editor referred to the LCD panel as very small, literally “the same size as the viewfinder”, when it was clearly 4-5 times larger in terms of surface area.

The best thing to do is to come up with your own wishlist of features for your dream camcorder, using this guide and other guides like the CNET guide, then go to the stores, and see which model most closely fits your wishlist. You’ll have to compromise or give up on some features, but you’ll come out with a great buy in the end, because you’ll have done your homework.

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Thoughts

Make the switch to a compact fluorescent light bulb

Environmental Defense is running a campaign to get 1 million households to replace their incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents. They’re saying that if you swap out just one 100W incandescent bulb, you’ll reduce your household’s global warming pollution by more than 1,300 pounds. Alternately, “if every US household replaced three 60W incandescent bulbs in their home with CFLs, it would be like taking 3.5 million cars off the roads!” Food for thought, right! Meanwhile, here’s a link to the pledge.

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How To

How to find cartoons for children

Stephen Metcalf from Slate wrote a good piece entitled “Beyond Bugs Bunny: The Quest to Find the Perfect Children’s Cartoon“. It reminded me to write about my own thoughts on the issue.

Unfortunately, Stephen’s piece falls short of the truth. While I agree with him on one aspect, that “one is faced with an uninviting… choice: insipidity or carnage” when trying to pick from among the choices, I disagree with his characterization of what constitutes inspidity or carnage in cartoons.

Most Walt Disney cartoons aren’t insipid, in particular the classic ones. I have great respect for the art, and the way in which Disney chose to portray certain things. Look, he was trying to make commercial movies. There was a path to be followed if commercial success was to be the result, and he knew what needed to be done. I don’t think the overwhelming majority of people would consider his movies a compromise, or an example of insipidity.

You want to talk about insipid? What about Ed, Edd and Eddy? What about Codename: Kids Next Door? What about Pokemon? What about Beavis and Butthead? What about Ren & Stimpy? The list is endless. Cartoons like these are a veritable waste of time. They’re not funny, their plots are mediocre, their art is ugly, and one gets up from watching them feeling like they just lost a few hundred brain cells.

I’ve also heard talk of Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry being violent, and I disagree with that line of thought. There’s a huge difference between the violence portrayed in those cartoons and the violence one finds in the cartoons of today, in particular some of the action cartoons, or the anime, which can be extremely violent, to the point of brutal cruelty.

The violence to be found in LT or T&J cartoons was rubbery. Nothing really ever happened to the characters. They emerged unscathed. It was all done for fun and with great comedic timing, and even as a kid, you would know it – I did, at any rate. You also can’t call them children’s cartoons. They were created at a time when cartoons would get shown before movies in theatres. Adults were expected to watch and enjoy them. Some of them won Oscars. The brand of humor to be found in them is a mix of pratfalls and other physical jokes, which appealed to everyone, and jokes that only grown-ups would get. Unfortunately, all of that has been lost on the cartoonists of today, who seem to produce only violence and insipidity.

You want to talk about risqué? What about the Max Fleischer cartoons, which Stephen touts, in particular the Betty Boop ones? Would you call those children’s cartoons? Not by far! They treat themes such as adultery (albeit with subtlety) and theft. Betty has many gentlemen callers, most of them old and rich, and some are married. In some of the cartoons, she’s only in her negligé. There’s a scene in “Poor Cinderella” that would make the fellows whistle even nowadays. What about Felix the Cat? In “Felix in Hollywood”, he peeps into the dressing room of a star, then whistles and exclaims, “Oh, Boy!”. In “Neptune’s Nonsense”, Neptune has a mermaid do a belly dance for him. In “Sultan Pepper”, the same character that fools around with Betty Boop in one of her cartoons now tries to sleep with the entire harem of a visiting sultan. This is clearly not kid stuff. Sure, some of Fleischer’s cartoons are safer, but you’d have to pick and choose.

One has to do the same nowadays. Stephen seems to have stumbled upon a good find with Charlie and Lola. I would also recommend Little Bear, which is an absolutely charming show that doesn’t get aired often these days, unfortunately.

The truth is, cartoons made specifically for children, and in particular cartoons made for infants and young children, to the age of 4-5, are a relatively new thing. Even Disney didn’t make his cartoons just for children. He said that himself. So there’s no point in criticizing the man or the other existing art because it doesn’t work for something it wasn’t originally intended for.

There’s a good reason college kids can’t stand Barney, but little kids love him. His TV show is specifically intended for very young audiences. It’s the same with The Wiggles. I go bonkers watching them, but my friends’ little daughter (who’s also 3 years old) loves them. So you see, one should look at what’s on the market today, and make an intelligent decision based on facts and personal preference.

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