The Desert Computer Tutor

Tag: Apple

  • Crapware

    Crapware:

    Why manufacturers install it, what you can do about it, and why it’s not going to go away   Based on an article by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes  http://www.zdnet.com/

    Crapware, also know as “bloatware” or “junkware,” are apps that hardware companies install onto their devices on top of the operating system (OS).  It’s a bunch of free trials and demos that nag you to buy the full version. Most annoying to me, is when you start using the app, not realizing that it’s a free trial, and then find out that you have to pay in order to continue accessing the work you’ve done.
    snailThe worst consequence is that crapware can dramatically slow down system performance or even compromise your system’s security. I frequently see relatively new computers running slow because of the weight of the crapware that has been installed on them. They run great once all the junk is removed. One has to wonder about the number of people who spend hard-earned money on a PC only to end up getting a third-rate experience because of crapware.
    Furthermore, many of these dissatisfied PC owners may end up blaming “Microsoft” or “Windows” for the performance issues, when the real problem is that the manufacturing company took money from third-parties to fill their computers with junk.
    Microsoft is well-aware of this.  It’s now offering Signature which is free from the clutter that “can slow down your computer and junk up your Start screen or desktop.”  See it here
    Screenshot 2015-03-07 at 1.35.12 PMScreenshot 2015-03-07 at 1.36.27 PM

    If you ask the hardware makers why they install this stuff, they’ll tell you they are offering you extra value. That’s a lie.  They do it because they make money for doing it. Except for Apple products, computer profits are very thin. Hardware makers are happy to install junk onto new systems in exchange for a few extra dollars.

    Photo courtesy of www.kitguru.net
    photo.apple_.windows.crapware (1)

     

    Eradicating crapware from Windows PCs isn’t easy, and when it comes Android smartphones and tablets it can be almost impossible.  There are tools out there for the PC such as PC Decrapifier and CCleaner that do a reasonable job of cleaning a system, but they’re far from perfect.

     

    The purveyors of crapware have become wise to these tools and take deliberate steps to make it difficult. It’s best to call my friends at Desert Cow Computers. www.mydesertcow.com

    desert cow computers

    Hardware manufacturers operate in a cutthroat business environment and crapware can make the difference between almost no profit and a little profit, especially on budget systems.  Perhaps you will decide to stay away from budget systems now.
    Microsoft offers the Signature range of PCs and Google sells Nexus-branded devices, These products are free from crapware. If you’re looking for a pure Windows or Android experience, then this might be worth investigating.  Another option is to switch to Apple or Chromebook.

    nexus

    If more people complain or vote with their feet by purchasing crapware-free products, perhaps equipment manufacturers will be persuaded to make crapware easier to remove.

     
    Thoughts or comments about this topic?  Please comment below.  Thanks!

  • The Joys of Airplane Mode

    Airplane Mode for Travel

     

    Many of us will be traveling and visiting family this time of year.  Here are some tips to enhance the peace and joy of your holiday season.

    Using Airplane Mode on your smartphone isn’t only useful for flights. The feature can prolong your battery life or allow you to unplug and enjoy some uninterrupted family time. Here are some surprising ways you might want to use it.

    1: During a flight

    Screen shot of Settings for Android

    If you have been on a flight in the last few years, you have heard the constant reminders from the flight attendants to turn off all electronic devices. Once the plane has reached an altitude of 10,000 feet, cell phones can be used in airplane mode.

    To activate Airplane Mode on your phone, simply go into the Settings app and turn it on.  There are shortcuts to do this, depending on the type of phone, (ask me to show you on yours next time we see each other) but this method will work for everyone reading this article.

    Once Airplane Mode is activated, your phone turns off both the Wi-Fi and cellular connections. This means you will no longer be able to make or receive calls, texts, or e-mails, or browse the Internet — anything that requires a data connection will not work while Airplane Mode is activated.

    Wi-Fi can be turned back on and connected to a network while phone is in Airplane Mode.  If you are lucky enough to be on a flight with Wi-Fi, you can turn just the Wi-Fi connection back on and send emails, browse the Internet, or send instant messages.  (Again, just go into the settings app and turn the wifi on.)

     

    Screen shot of Settings for iPhone

    2: To unplug for awhile

    Airplane Mode is a great way to unplug in order to spend some quality time with your family or just take a break from the beeps that seem to control our lives sometimes.

    Putting your phone in Airplane Mode puts you back in control. You may be surprised how quickly you forget that your connection is turned off, and how peaceful your evening can be.

    This is also a great way to silence your phone during important meetings. Don’t worry, all of your messages will be waiting and will download as soon as you turn Airplane Mode off.

     

     

    3: While traveling internationally

    Screen shot of Airplane mode on iPhone

    Traveling across borders can be an expensive affair for you and your wireless carrier. International roaming charges are very pricey. One way to avoid the extra roaming fees is to activate airplane mode on your phone and only use Wi-Fi hotspots while you travel. You won’t be able to receive text messages or phone calls, but you will still be able to check your e-mail, use instant messaging, and browse the Internet over a Wi-Fi-only connection.  (You can let people know you will be out of town and suggest they communicate by email until you get back.)

     

     

     

     

    screen shot of movie on phone

    4: While the kids play games or movies

    Your smartphone can provide a welcome distraction for your young kids or grand kids. However, as you can imagine, kids will start pushing and tapping anything they see on the screen.  You don’t want them accidentally dialing phone numbers or sending random texts. If you are going to let your favorite little people play games or watch a movie on your phone, turn on Airplane Mode before you give your phone to them. This not only prevents them from calling anyone, but it also stops push alerts from interrupting their game or movie.

     

    5: To save battery

    screen shot of battery status on iPhone

    We have all been in a situation where we suddenly have a low battery and no access to a charger. One way to help slow down battery drain is to turn Airplane Mode on. When your phone is on, even with the screen off, it is constantly searching for and monitoring data connections. Turning those connections off with Airplane Mode will save battery, allowing you to make calls only when you absolutely need to.

  • Listen Up Sports Fans… There’s An App for That!

    RememberThis week a client asked me if he could watch college football on his new tablet.  Yes!  “There’s an app for that.”  Actually there are a lot of apps available.  There are many free and paid options to watch football, soccer, basketball, tennis and other favorite sports.

    You can download an app through “the company store”. (Google Play for Android devices and The App Store for Apple devices.)

    Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Two good apps for streaming live sports are offered by television stations.

    WatchESPN (ESPN Inc) offers live streaming of events from the ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU networks. You can enjoy access to events from the NBA, MBL, U.S. Open, The Masters, college football and basketball, Grand Slam Tennis and Euro 2012 Soccer — as well as original ESPN programming like SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption and SportsNation. WatchESPN is user-friendly, making it easy to search for your favorite teams, leagues and shows.

    To access WatchESPN’s live stream, you’ll need a cable subscription through a participating cable provider (e.g., AT&T U-verse, Cox, Time Warner Cable or Verizon). The app will prompt you to enter your TV provider, TV subscription user ID and password.

    CBS Sports (CBS Interactive, Inc.) features a live stream of video of top sports, including NCAA and SEC football games. Scores of games that cannot be streamed live are updated very quickly. CBS Sports also offers on-demand access to game highlights, analysis and original programming, as well as a live Twitter feed of commentary from players, writers, analysts and bloggers.  The CBS Sports mobile app features extensive college football coverage including live streaming of some games on Saturday.

    Note:  You may need to download and install Adobe Flash Player, the leading video and animation player. Downloading Adobe Flash Player is free, quick and easy.

    NBA League Pass Mobile allows you to follow the league through live NBA game viewing in addition to on-demand game replays and league highlights. The league Pass costs $16.99 per season and is available through the NBA Game Time mobile app.

    MLB.tv offers the At Bat 13 subscription service, which features home and away broadcasts, HD quality video, full game archives and in-game highlights and stats. A season pass is $19.99 and premium subscribers have access to live video feeds.

    In addition to apps, you can find websites that can connect you to an online broadcast of the sporting event you want to watch.  Just do a search in your web browser.  You may want to check out Ustream, FirstRow Sports and Stream2Watch.

      

    Note:  Streaming sports live does limit the life of your battery because it requires you to use your data connection plus the audio and video components of your device’s hardware.  To prolong the life of your battery, try dimming the screen and turning off any unnecessary features (e.g., Bluetooth). Make sure to have a power adapter on hand to juice up your battery when the need arises.

    If you, or someone you know, needs to learn more about how to search for good apps, or websites, I’d love to help. Call me today!

    Share your favorite apps and websites for sports in the “Comments” below.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Can’t Type? Try Dragon Naturally Speaking

    Can’t Type?   There is a great solution.

     Dragon Naturally Speaking

    Dragon

    Dragon is similar to the speech recognition apps on smart phones like Siri and Google Voice, but you can train Dragon to recognize your voice and your speech patterns so it gets more and more accurate.  It will even scan the emails in your “Sent” folder to learn your speech patterns. You have to be a little patient in the beginning to correct its mistakes, because that’s how it learns to become more accurate but it’s easy to do.

    I have helped several clients with Dragon and I’m currently working with a man who had a stroke several years ago and is using Dragon to write his emails.  I also connected his computer to his big screen TV so he can see the typing better.  He’s really enjoying it and that has inspired me to consider using myself.  I often feel like my hands can’t keep up with my brain.  My typing is fast but makes so many mistakes, especially when I’m journaling or writing Techie Tips.

    I used it years ago when I was in Real Estate and it worked in all my apps:  email correspondence in Outlook, web searches, composing documents in Word, and making notes in my contact manager.  The newer version of Dragon is even more accurate and easier to train than before and it’s not very expensive.

    Dragon Dictate
    You can get the app for your tablet or smartphone too.
    iTunes                     Google Play Store

    And you can use your smart phone as the microphone for your computer.

     iTunes                      Google Pla

    If you, or someone you know, would like to learn how to use Dragon Naturally Speaking, please let me know. 

    This is a great way to “make peace with the ups and downs of computer technology.”

  • FYI for Current Users of Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod

    FYI:  For Current Owners of Apple Gadgets:

    Ipad And Iphone

    The iOS 8 update is available now for users of iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later, and iPod touch (fifth generation).

    You may have to delete some things in order to have enough memory to install the update.  It can take quite a bit of time to look at your apps’ usage and decide what to delete.  (Go to Settings > General > Usage)

    I had to dump 2 GB on my iPhone 4s.  I chose to keep my music for my workouts and dump a lot of photos. I also dumped a bunch of apps I wasn’t using very often.  I didn’t care about them anyway so it was a good incentive for me to do some clean up. I will run the update and report back in next week’s Techie Tip.

  • iPhone VS Android — “The Boys Slug It Out For Another Round”

    iPhone Vs Android
    “The Boys” Slug It Out For Another Round

    Apple and Google went for another round in the competition for market dominance this week as Apple launched it’s larger iPhone 6 models and its iOS 8 operating system for all its gadgets.

    iOS 8 has has some very cool new features and I noticed that many of them are features that Android phones have had for a long time.  (I have used both and currently use an iPhone.)  My son, Jason, who is convinced Android is far better than iPhone and hated to see me switch, sent me this hilarious joke about the news.

    Reaction to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been lukewarm. Many have accused Apple of playing catch up with rivals such as Samsung, rather than leading the way. An image titled 'Dear iPhone 6 users: Welcome to 2012' has gone viral, (pictured) which lists new Apple features that have existed on Android phones for years

    I asked Jason if he thought I should wait to install the update until the bugs are worked out and the app developers have more time to fix their apps to work with it, and he said,

    Jason Griswold's profile photo

    “Nah, that’s for normal people, we are in tech…we live to have our world turned upside down.”

    He’s so funny!  But it’s true.  I love the challenge, the adventure and being able to make your transitions easier by sharing my experience.

    Who do you know that…

    • Is trying to decide whether to buy an Android gadget or an Apple gadget
    • Needs help with updating to iOS 8
    • Wants a tutorial on the changes and new features or
    • Wants to learn more about their Android phone

    Please let me know so I can help them “make peace with the ups and downs of computer technology.” 

  • Pre-purchase Consultation Questions

    One of my services is consulting with people to help them choose the best computer or gadget for their individual needs.  So much frustration can be avoided by buying the right product in the first place, and I have already test-driven quite a few of them in order to pave the way for others to have a more pleasant experience.  See my previous posts for the gruesome details.  LOL

    Here are the questions I use for my consultations.  Please forward this to your friends and relatives so they will have it when they are considering a computer or gadget purchase.   They will thank you for it.

    1. What is your budget?

    2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

    3. What screen resolution do you want?

    4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

    5. How much battery life do you need?

    6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low, Medium or High)?

    7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, etc.)

    8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

    9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

    10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

    11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer, Blue Ray ROM/Writer, etc ?

    12. Please tell me about the brands that you prefer and the brands that you don’t like and explain the reasons.

    13. What country do you live in?

    14. Please tell me any additional information if needed.

    Additionally… you should consider available support options in your area. If you buy something abroad, will you be able to have it fixed near where you live? Does the warranty apply? How quickly do local accredited technicians fix laptops?