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Lenovo and Toshiba have unveiled their new ultra mobile PCs(UMPCs) at CES 2008. The Lenovo device runs Linux and has a 4.8 inch screen and a camera. Toshiba’s version runs Windows Vista. Both devices offer the newest wireless internet protocol, WiMax.
Here is a video of the Lenovo device at work:

And here’s one of Toshiba’s:

Whether either of these devices will be successful remains to be seen. Existing UMPC’s carry a hefty price tag of $1,000 or more-for that price you can get a very nice laptop. UMPC’s are going to have to come down in price and prove their value before they become any kind of threat to laptops or digital media players.

computers, toshiba, lenovo, UMPC, linux, vista, CES 2008

The 2008 CES(Consumer Electronics Show) is underway and unveiling the hottest new gadgets and electronics due to be introduced in the coming year.
Here are a few videos from the event. First is one of Bill Gates’ keynote speech, and below it an overview of the best of the best electronics and gadgers introduced at the show.

computers, CES 2008, Bill Gates

If you have a laptop you know how hot they can get. What you may not know is that heat can be lethal to your motherboard and hard drive. The solution is to get yourself a laptop cooler pad. These come in different varieties-some have actual fans on them, others just raise your laptop up and allow greater air circulation. Here’s a video review of one popular brand, Targus. Their cooling pad has actual fans on it plus some extra usb ports.
Take a look and let me know what you think!

computers, laptops, notebooks, notebook coolers, laptop accessories

A new malware making the rounds offers a new twist-it takes over your desktop and won’t go away unless you pay $35! It’s being called ransomware. It locks the user out of their desktop and displays a full screen, poorly spelled warning telling the user their anti-virus/anti-spyware license has expired, and goes on to a grammatically nightmarish explanation of what could happen if their supposed “license” isn’t renewed. Clicking on “Click to activate new license” prompts the user to call a 900 number in order to fork over their $35, and offers two international numbers in case they have any problems. The 900 number appears to belong to a payment processor used by porn sites. Unfortunately, while the bad spelling and grammar are a clear tip off that it’s a scam, by the time any of you are viewing the “warning” it’s too late. The only way to regain control of the infected system is to pay the $35.
Yikes! You read that right-you really do have to pay up to get your system back. It’s not yet known if reformatting the hard drive would do the trick, but you can’t even get access to the command prompt to try with this thing. It literally locks you out of your system. The best way to fight back is with prevention. Keep your anti virus and anti-spyware software up to date, don’t click on links in emails from people you don’t know, and visit only well known, familiar websites.

malware, internet security, anti virus, spyware

Computers and electronics of all kinds are the hottest gifts this season. Everyone loves to get them, but what happens when that coveted, must have gadget doesn’t work? Here are some tips to make returns and exchanges easy and hassle free.

First, always always keep the receipt in a safe place and give the recipient a gift receipt. If you are the recipient, keep all the original packaging until you know for sure the device is working as it should. To do a return or exchange you’ll need to have it all, plus all accessories.

When you’re buying, make sure to check out the store’s (or website’s) return policy. Often times they have different policies for different items. For example, software and DVD’s usually can not be returned at all if opened, although they usually will let you do an exchange for the exact same item. Hopefully if you bought online, especially from Ebay, you used your credit card. This will allow you to dispute the charges if a merchant refuses to honor their return policy. Using Paypal offers similar protections provided you don’t use an existing Paypal balance or e-check.

If you don’t have a receipt, don’t expect to get any help. Because of high fraud, most stores have new, stricter policies in place that do not allow returns or exchanges without receipts. This is why it is extremely important to always keep track of them.

Finally, a word about extended warranties. While they can sometimes be helpful on big ticket items like computers, avoid them otherwise as they are generally a waste of money. These days, once the 1 year manufacturers warranty is up, the device is obsolete and ready to be replaced anyway. Sad, but true!

holiday gift giving, computers, electronics, gift returns, making gift returns easy

Sorry guys, due to circumstances beyond my control (technical difficulties and a kidney infection) I’ve again fallen behind and I am sorry. Seems like every time I get back on track something comes along to knock me off again. Don’t you hate it when you get into a cycle like that? I’m happy to say that I’m just about over the infection and the technical difficulties have been fixed, so let’s try this again, shall we? They say 3rd time’s a charm!

Christmas is almost here and I’m quite excited. This will be my first Christmas as a married woman and the first Christmas in a long time where I’ve been blessed enough to be able to splurge on the people I love. I don’t care what I get this Christmas-in fact I don’t have a thing on my list. There really isn’t anything I want or need-I have it all. I realize I am very fortunate. Many aren’t this holiday season and while you’re counting your blessings why not bring a little holiday magic to those who may not have many to count? Pick up an extra Poinsettia or wreath and bring it to your local nursing home, veteran’s center or homeless shelter. Got some CDs or DVDs you don’t use much anymore? Freecycle them or donate them to a local nursing home or shelter. When you do your holiday grocery shopping, pick up a few extra canned goods and non-perishables and bring them to your local food pantry. These are all small and easy to do things that will mean a lot. This is the season of giving, and the more love and care you give away, the more you’ll get!

christmas, blessings, helping those less fortunate, holidays

Computers are not generally known as being environmentally friendly. Since technology is always changing and folks always want to be on the cutting edge, people tend to upgrade after only a couple of years and toss their old systems out. The problem isn’t just that our landfills are overflowing. Computers contain trace amounts of several toxic chemicals like mercury and lead. Improper disposal can lead to health and environmental hazards. The other problem is that computers are power hogs and can use a lot of electricity. Want to go green? Here’s a good way to start.

Western Digital has unveiled its new Greenpower brand of hard drives. The drives, available in 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB sizes use an average of 4 to 5 watts less than similar hard drives from Hitachi, Seagate and other manufacturers.
Tom McDorman, VP and GM of the company’s enterprise business unit, said: “WD’s RE2-GP enterprise line of hard drives allows customers to expand their storage needs, reduce their total cost of ownership, and improve the environment all at the same time.”
The increased efficiency is produced by several different technologies, including IntelliSeek, which optimizes seek speeds to lower power consumption and noise.
The new drives are expected to have retail prices of $149.99(500GB), $249.99(750GB) and $349.99(1TB).

Oh, and when you’re ready to toss your old system, call your city’s sanitation department to learn about safe ways to dispose of and/or recycle it. Or, you may want to consider donating it to a worthy organization instead.

computers, hard drives, data storage, western digital, environmentally friendly computers, recycling

Fear not XP lovers-your beloved OS isn’t being forgotten. Microsoft has announced that SP3 for XP will be released in early 2008. A beta version was quietly distributed to about 15,000 beta testers last week. Microsoft would like everyone to be using Vista, but it’s not happening. As a result they’ve extended support for XP and pushed back their plans to end retail and OEM sales. They aren’t saying much about this latest update, presumably because they want the focus to be on Vista. Sources say the pack will include the more than 1,000 fixes and patches issued in the last three years along with at least 4 new features. Initial reports from testers are saying the pack actually increases the speed of XP by around 10%.

Okay, I want to hear from you. XP or Vista? Which do you prefer? I use Vista and have had no problems with it at all. Maybe I’m one of the lucky ones? Then again I ran Windows ME for 5 years with no problems either, so maybe I am an exception!! I know a big complaint is the amount of space Vista takes up (several gigs) but with today’s ever growing hard drives, that really shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Maybe it’s the memory requirements? If you’re upgrading an older system, this could be a big problem, as Vista needs at least 1 gig of RAM-2 is better. So talk to me and let me know which OS you prefer and why!

microsoft, windows xp, vista, computers, service pack 3, windows update

If you’re like most folks, you hate commercials, and when they come on you either flip the channel or use the time to take a bathroom or snack break. One of the reasons TV show DVDs have become so popular is their lack of commercials. Many sets do come with a trailer advertising upcoming releases, but it’s easily skipped. Well, IBM is hoping to change that. They have filed a patent for a method of making DVDs that lets the manufacturer or studio-not the viewer-decide if the view will see ads or even if the presentation on the DVD (a television show, movie, concert, etc) would be seen free of commercial interruption. A certificate on the DVD would be checked automatically when the disk is inserted into a player.

That’s right folks. This little invention would periodically interrupt the DVD you’re watching to play commercials, just like on TV. I expect that if this type of DVD ever makes it to market, there will be quite a backlash. It’s not surprising that this type of technology is being developed though. DVRs, DVD players, and DVDs themselves have made a sharp dent in ad revenue Anyone who has a DVR will tell you they love the ability to skip past commercials, and any TV fan will tell you the best part of TV show DVDs, present and classic, is their lack of ads and lack of editing to insert them. It’s becoming a real problem for advertisers and now they are beginning to fight back.

Would I buy a show on one of these new commercial cluttered DVDs? I really don’t know. It it was a show I loved and couldn’t get in any other format, probably. Otherwise, probably not. We’re inundated with enough ads everyday as it is. Is it really too much to ask to watch a DVD in ad free piece? Maybe so.

dvds, tv on dvd, dvd players, dvd drives, dvrs, ibm

Cyber Monday is here! If you’re like most folks and have shopped online before, you were probably greeted with an inbox full of offers from various retails. Here are just a few that found their way to mine:

Timberland Co. is offering $25 off any purchase and free shipping.
Ebags is offering a 20% rebate on all purchases made via Paypal.
Sharper Image is offering up to 70% selected items.
Lenox is offering $10 off purchases of 75% or more.
Sears is offering several online specials including 10% all appliances and 10% cash back on all Home Theater purchases.
Pfaltzgraff is offiering free shipping.
Paypal is offering 20% cash back for purchases from many merchants including Barnes&Noble, Dell, HP, Toys R Us, Sharper Inage, Ralph Lauren, and more.
Staples is offering several specials including LCD monitors for $139, a portable GPS system for $179, and a 400GB portable HD from $89.

As always, when contemplating an online deal, be sure to read the product description and all fine print carefully, and only shop online at reputable retailers. If you get an email promising an amazing deal but you’ve never heard of the company, be wary. It’s smart to shop at online retailers that have a brick and motar store as well-many of them accept returns of merchandise purchases online, which is very convenient. Another thing to watch out for is shipping costs. Many times the shipping charge cancels out the savings. For example I found a great deal on some kitchen floor mats at Kmart.com. They were only $7.95 each! I was thrilled until I got to the checkout and discovered the cheapest shipping was $12! No thanks. Paying more for shipping than the item itself cost is insane!

Don’t worry if you miss out on any of today’s specials, as there will be many more to come between now and December 25th!

cyber monday, online shopping, computers, gadgets, christmas gift ideas, electronics

Hi everyone,
I am embarrassed that it’s been so long since my last post. Just as I got the migraines under control a nasty cold showed up. I was sick right through Thanksgiving. Yuck! I promise you all this time I’m back for good. I’m finally feeling like myself again and raring to go, so please forgive my recent absences-you have my word that the regular daily posts will now return!

Did you recently get a mysterious pop up ad urging you to invest in some penny stocks? If so I have bad news. You’ve got the Storm worm. Over 250,000 people received the ad, and it’s likely many of them never even knew they were infected. The worm turned the computers it infected into zombies-that is, it silently took control of the system. Groups of zombie computers are called botnets and they can inflict everything from floods of spam to attacks on websites called Denial of Service Attacks without the computers owner ever knowing. Unfortunately getting rid of the worm is a job itself as it’s cleverly designed to mutate to avoid detection. Check out this site for help if you think you’ve got this worm. http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/small_dam.shtml

If you don’t, count your blessings-then update your anti-virus and internet security software and remember to never ever open an attachment ending in .exe or .pif, and to never open an attachment of any kind from someone you don’t know! Be careful about websites you visit as well. Don’t blindly click on links in emails. Let your mouse pointer hover over them for a moment first and look at bar at the bottom of the screen, where the REAL addresss will be revealed. Don’t be surprised if Paypal.com turns out to really be “scammersite.this is a scam.com/paypal”. Spammers and scammers are getting increasingly good at producing fake webpages that look just like the real thing, but they still can’t foil the simple mouse over the link trick!

spam, spammers, storm worm, pop up ads, computer virus, phishing

Do you back up your data regularly? If you do, keep up the good work! If not, you really should be. Computers are not perfect. Glitches and crashes happen. So do hardware failures, power outages, lightning strikes, spilled drinks (this is especially deadly to laptops), viruses, and a host of other not so nice things that can wipe out your data. To protect yourself, get in the habit of backing up once a week. If you use Vista, there is a automatic back up feature included that makes it super easy. For other operating systems it’s a little more work, but still easy. Just open Windows Explorer and drag and drop what you want to back up to the backup media of your choice. This can be a CD, DVD, USB flash drive or external hard drive. Forget about floppy disks, even if you are one of the few folks who still has a floppy drive. Floppy disks go bad really fast and hold so little that you’d need a handful or more to hold all your data. I use a USB flash drive. It’s a smart idea to make at least two copies so you can store one someplace other than your home, such as a safe deposit box or a friends place. What should you back up? While the answer partially depends on what you find important and what you can live without, here’s a basic list to get you started:

Documents
Photos
Digital Music Files
Address Book/Contact List from your email program
Buddy List from your IM program
Financial Records
Favorites Folder for IE

Don’t worry about backing up your programs as they can almost always be restored via their installation disks. Now get going and back up your data! You’ll be glad you did!

computers, Vista, windows, usb flash drive, backing up data

Hi everyone,

I want to apologize for the lack of posts the last few days. I’ve been dealing with a massive migrane, but the pain is finally going away, so I will be back posting regularly starting tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

Thinking of replacing your desktop with a laptop? PCWorld has selected its top 10 desktop replacement laptops:

1.Apple MacBook Pro
2. HP Pavilion HDX
3.Acer Aspire 5920G
4.HP Pavilion dv9500t
5. Dell Inspiron 1720
6. HP Compaq 8710p
7. Lenovo ThinkPad T61p
8. Toshiba Satellite X205-S9359
9.Eurocom D900C Phantom-X
10. Gateway NX860XL

Now these units are stylish and offer power and portability, but at a steep cost-they run from $1500 to almost $5000! I don’t know anyone willing to pay $5K for a computer these days, and an equally powerful desktop system can be had for much less, but if you like having the option of portability, a desktop replacement laptop may be the right move for you. Of course while a desktop replacement laptop may be portable, it doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to do so. The units listed above weight anywhere from 6.5lbs to over 15. You can thank the big screens (15’-17’ and above) for that! Still, it’s nice to be able to grab your computer and curl up in your favorite easy chair or take it outside and enjoy nice weather. If you set up a home network, it’s even nicer! One caution, like all laptops, these units are not actually designed to be used on one’s lap unless you like toasted thighs. In fact, the processors that make them so powerful also make them run quite hot, so invest in a cooling pad and/or always make sure to operate them on a hard surface. For all the specs on the models listed above, check out PC World’s list!

computers, pc world, desktop replacements, laptops, macbook, thinkpad, pavilion, compaq