in and biking to Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure
to donate you can use this link
http://www.active.com/donate/komenbl15/nates
Author: Nathan Steffenson
When I first chose my own computer, in 2000, I chose it off of specifications.
A Dell computer tower (heavy) A dvd drive, a separate cd-rw writer. 40 MB hard drive, Windows ME, rambus ram, intel Pentium 4, Windows ME. It ended up not being such a good computer. I didn’t buy a new screen, because I didn’t know how important it was to have a good flat panel at the time. Windows ME was a short lived operating system, and eventually I had to replace it. The memory was too expensive to upgrade. And it being heavy, I was moving around quite a bit when I had the computer, was a real pain. It started very slow and shut down slow. And noisy(not including the nice speakers that came with it)
My latest computer a MacBook Air has a completely different set of specifications. The screen a 13 inch is probably similar to the viewable screen size of the used monitor that I had with the (old dell computer) but a little easier on the eyes, much thiner, and of course much lighter. My upgraded iMac and macbook air have no spinning hard drives. No optical drives (except for the superdrive I pulled from the iMac and used a usb to sata converter cable for it to work with either the MacBook Air or iMac) It super fast and does what I need it to do – watch video, communicating with others, listening to music, calculating, book keeping and record management, browsing the web, photo, and video management. Your list may differ from mine what you need want or need to do with your computer or device and that can change over time as new uses are available.
That is the main thing with a computer, tablet, or smart phone ( or most other things) it does what you need it to do. And fast is a good thing too. Also, that you aren’t hurt while using it. You don’t want to be moving around heavy things. I chose a notebook versus a tablet, simply because it is a little easier on my neck and eyes.
A reminder that the power going out by itself is not an emergency. You may want to contact your utility / power company to make sure they know about the problem.
Emergency response is only if there are other problems such as a power line down in the middle of a street, someone trapped in an elevator (in some cases calling building maintenance is better for that), or other things that you would normally call for that such as a fire, gas leek, . In Crow Wing County Minnesota they received too many calls for nonemergency power outage.
You can use a battery or crank powered radio for information. Use a Flashlight that is either battery or crank powered (LED lights last longer that is what most newer flashlights use). Water stored in freezer (see video below about putting water in freezer) and food that does not require cooking.
Don’t use electric lit gas stoves.
If there isn’t weather hazards, and it is daylight you can go outside and enjoy the day.
For your computer equipment it is good to have power conditioning for the entire building and a surge protector where it is plugged in. You can also use an Uninterruptible power supply / battery backup
Notebook computers, tablets, and smart phones don’t need battery backup since they have their own batteries. Using wireless network connection (WiFi) can help avoid problems with power surge when the power chord is unplugged.
In addition you may want to have a backup of your computer files in case something goes wrong. We sell online storage.
Fiber optics for telephone, data, cable tv are best to avoid damage from lightning strike. If it isn’t available in your area make sure those connections have a surge protection before it enters the building and again at your computer, tv, router, or other connected electronic.
Lightning rods on roof can also help (any roof antennas grounded), and being in a sturdy structure.
you’re invited Special event 4-22-2015 On this Earth Day I share a sneak peak at my book I’m in the progress of writing
See Preview
June 2017 –
- Datacommuting ebook now available on iBooks, Amazon (Kindle) and Nook
Computers are sometimes used to eliminate human error. The biggest example is calculations. Whether you see it in a calculator user interface or not, calculation is a core function of a computer. If the formulas are input correctly, the computer will get it right. Some other things do have the possibility of mistakes.
How can computers make mistakes?
- When someone inputs something incorrectly. This can be done by either the programmer or end user. Example: someone posting a fake story on social media. Example 2: making a typo or inputing a number wrong or in the wrong order.
- When a computer’s hardware is failing or using hardware beyond it’s compacity. This can happen over time, or very quickly if the hardware is not taken care of. Example: dust getting built up. Example 2: battery failing.
- When programs or hardware are incompatible with other programs or hardware.
- Similar to compatibility and bad programming/input: malware can cause errors and mistakes.
- Artificial intelligence: Computers have been programmed very well to play a game of chess, but other artificial intelligence are not quite as well developed such as voice recognition, facial recognition, and optical character recognition even though significant improvements are being made. Some of the trouble with voice and optical character recognition is there are many variables (much more than a game of chess) that can make it difficult. For example with optical character recognition: how high a quality scan is taken by the scanner or camera and how high quality the paper is(not wrinkled) how well the actual type is printed.
Categories
Severe Weather awareness week
Have a plan for disaster to keep yourself and the people around you safe.
Read more at https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/hsem/weather-awareness-preparedness/Pages/severe-weather-awareness-week-program.aspx
What about your computers and data?
- Always have your computer backed up offsite or online in case of natural disaster of fire. We offer online storage.
- Don’t smoke by computer(and to be even safer not in the house, especially not by a bed and not on deck/balcony). Keep it out of dust. Keep pets and small children away from computer
- Use proper electrical equipment such as a surge protector and grounded. Don’t use any frayed chords nor extension chords.
- Critical servers and network equipment should use battery backup also called uninterruptible power supply.
- When possible use fiberoptics to minimize impact of lightning strike.
- Don’t use computers or phones outside in a storm or extreme weather.
- You may want to consider turning off items during a strong storm and not use appliances nor chorded telephone.
- Have your equipment in a sturdy structure (not out in a garage)
Computers come in many different shapes, sizes, and uses
If you drive, the car you use most likely has a computer to help with fuel efficiency. The stoplight is controlled by a computer. Your driver’s license is in a database on a server. State Id and voter registration is in databases as well. And this isn’t even mentioning smart cars or the smart phone that you have.
Most people recognize that smart phones, smart TVs, and tablets are a form of a computer. Even if your cell phone isn’t featured or a “smart phone” a computer is still used to determine which tower your phone should use, route, and track your phone call. Computerized switches, routers, and tracking of course are used with land line phones as well.
Go shopping? chances are every purchase you make is stored on a computer. Even if you pay cash. It for sure is if you pay by credit card, or use a rewards card. It is stored for a variety of reasons from accounting, to inventory and marketing. Of course modern point of sale systems are a form of networked computer.
Use electricity? Instant meter reading and electrical efficiency depends on computers.
Watch a movie? Most likely it was edited with a microcomputer. Before computers were used to edit movies it would take a room full of editors to edit a featured motion picture. With a computer it can be done with as little as one editor.
Listen to the radio? watch TV? even if you hear someone live on the air, the programming is computerized. At times a single person may control several radio stations. Some small TV and radio stations are fully programmed for the entire night with only people on call.
Have a bank account? I seen on TV many years ago the last bank in the United States to not use computers. Chances are you don’t bank there.
Read the newspaper the old fashioned paper kind? It was edited on a computer.
Use the mail? Yes some mail is still sorted by hand, but it is assisted by computers with optical character recognition and bar codes.
This list could keep going, so I will stop here.
Categories
What I recommend for antivirus
I don’ t recommend a specific brand of anti-virus since no software is fool-proof.
For Windows computer I recommend having security /antivirus software but don’t recommend a specific brand.
For Macintosh and chrome, and currently smart phones I have no recommendation, since sometimes it can actually slow down performance more than a security concern is worth. For those, I say if you want it on there, and it works well, then that’s ok.
Another thing is to remember avoid browser plug ins, toolbars and extensions unless you know what they are for. Avoid downloading programs that you don’t know if you can trust and be careful installing so you don’t add more than you want.
Be very careful about browsing. Avoid free video and music download sites unless you know they are legitimate. Avoid bit torrent and peer sharing apps. Avoid pornographic sites. Also legitimate sites that are not well maintained can be a problem as well in the comment and discussion boards.
Another thing to remember is most computer problems aren’t viruses. So you may want to use builtin programs like disk cleanup, and also go to control panel to uninstall unwanted programs.
Other problems aren’t software and are actually hardware. Your computer may need to physically be cleaned out of dust or better maintained physically. It may need hardware upgrade such as more memory or a solid state drive, or if it is real old a replacement which may be another computer or a tablet.
Hopefully most of these go straight to your junk or bulk email so you don’t have to look at these.
Some phishing scams I’ve seen:
US Solar department. There isn’t a US Solar department. There is US department of energy. There are sometimes government incentives federal state, and local. (In Minnesota the commerce department sometimes handles these) But the emails that say US Solar department is a scam and there are also similar scams.
We need to update your security information right away. Saying it’s From an email provider, bank, government agency, or other place. It is highly unlikely that this from your actual email provider, bank, or government agency. It is someone trying to get your information. All of these places have a different method of contacting you.
A friend or relative ends up in foreign country and needs money right away. If they didn’t tell you they were going there, this is a scam. Their account may have been stolen, or the email may have been spoofed.
Too good to be true scams: “You’ve won a $1000 gift card, that you never entered a contest to be in”.” You won a foreign lottery. “” I’m a person from another country need you to take care of my millions of dollars.” “unsecured business loans” All of these are scams and if you get involved could loose a lot of money or even end up in a prison if you fall for them (especially if you try to go to another country to get the money back). Also in the lines of too good to be true A brand new product, new model (not a clearance, refurbished, or used item or loss leader), for significantly less that other places
Prescription drug and medical devices advertisements in emails not only may it be a scam that will cost you money or get you in legal trouble, the product you get may be dangerous. If it’s the right product, it still could be the wrong dose or size. Or simply not the one for you. Some of the medications or devices may make your problem worse or cause injury or death. Always check with your doctor for anything like this even if you are getting it from your local pharmacy or medical supply store.
It is a good idea just to delete these emails or mark them as junk/spam. And remember that these scams are not limited to emails, they can also happen with phone calls, social media, mail, and paid tv and radio programming so be careful.
Categories
Using Web Ex
I use Cisco Web Ex meetings for one of my online meeting tools.
I recommend that people connect to audio using call using computer. (not calling the number on the screen)
How To Videos: http://www.webex.com/how-to/index.html