Computer911-1.30.10 “Back-Up Saturday”

We’ve slacked on it, so we know that you all have as well, but no more!  Back-up Saturday is back, and we’re going to tell you the most sensible…and not so sensible ways to keep your precious data safe. Also, apparently some company named “Apple” had some product debut this week…What’s that all about? Put on the coffee, and grab your Personal Confuser. Episode 43 of Computer 911 with Pc Medic starts now.

In the News

• Google phasing out support for IE6
• Amazon looking at buying Netflix?
• Microsoft roadmap has Windows 8 shipping in 2011
• After Three Months, Only 35 Subscriptions for Newsday’s Web Site
• Wikileaks temporarily shuts down due to lack of funds

iPad? So What?

After months of speculation, Apple this week, announced their “industry changing” device: The iPad.  And while it has many rallying support for their bros in Cupertino, more seem unimpressed. Even more so, there is dispute over ownership of the silly name.

How about you? Is this a must-have device, or a clunk not worth the hype?

Back-Up Saturday

Being the last Saturday of the month, its a great time to remind yourself to back-up all your important data.  Here’s some tips from previous shows:

• An external USB Hard Drive.  Generally around 500GB is more than enough for important documents, music, and casual photographers.  Consider a 1TB drive is you are an avid photographer or videographer.  External drives available at Pc Medic. Not sure what size is best, let us help you decide.

• If going the external hard drive route, try SyncToy from Microsoft to help you simplify your back-ups.

  • Synchronize the contents of two folders, either across your home network or on the same PC.

    Great for sync’ing files from your desktop to a USB drive or between two different computers on your home network

• Windows Backup. For XP, checkout the Microsoft How-To article: “Windows XP Backup Made Easy,” For Vista/Win7 its Windows Backup and Restore.

• On the Mac, Time Machine.

• Also you should consider keeping your files off-site like at the office, or a relatives.  If there is a disaster or break-in at your home, and on-site backup won’t do you much good. This falls into the 3-2-1 Back-Up Solution. What’s 3-2-1 Back-Up?

3 Copies of everything that you want to back-up.

2 Different storage media (CDs/DVDs, external hard drives, etc.)

1 Back-Up off site.

Totally Free App

For back-up of all your online media, we’ve got a great deal for you in Backupify. Backupify lets you back-up all your online accounts like Facebook, Twitter, GMail, Google Docs, Flickr, and so many more.  So get on over to Backupify and sign up today, because its only Totally Free until tomorrow (Jan 31, 2010)!

Tags: amazon, Apple, back-up, google, iPad, Microsoft, netflix, Newsday, Wikileaks, Windows

Computer911-1.23.10 “Willy Nilly”

Turbines to power. Batteries to speed.  Its Saturday, January 23, 2010 and you’re tuning into the only two guys that take geek from being a 4-letter word, and make it a badge of honor. Its Episode 42 of Computer 911 with PC Medic.

In the News

• Google vs China Continues, Now with More Politicking.
• Microsoft’s IE Patch Plugs Aurora Hole, Seven Others, but Microsoft knew of IE flaw since September?
• In Other Big Google News: Google founders to sell stock, cede majority control by 2014
• Phone Companies Speed Haiti Text Donations
• Apple Officially Announces Jan. 27 Event.  Apple Tablet and iPhone 4 to be Unveiled?
• AMD posts first profit in 13 quarters

From the Bucket

Each week we choose one question “From the Bucket” that is Emailed to us.  If your question is chosen, you’ll receive a free hour of labor (a $60 value) from PC Medic!

Kurt in Maqruette wants to know:

What is Bluetooth, and how do I use it?

The best answer: Bluetooth via Wikipedia

Totally Free App: Shazam

Have you ever heard a song, and desperately wanted to know what it was and who it was performed by?  Worse yet, do you know one of those guys who always has the answers?  Well now you can satisfy your curiosity and ego in one fell swoop with Shazam.

Shazam, the first of our Totally Free mobile apps, is a program that will use your phone’s microphone to listen to the music in the background, and within seconds let you know what the song is, who performs it, and where you can get it.

Shazam is available for Android, Blackberry, iPhone, and Nokia and is as always, Totally Free.

Get Blackberry apps via Blackberry App World

Tags: Android, Apple, blackberry, bluetooth, China, google, Haiti, ie, internet explorer, iPhone, Microsoft, nokia, tablet

Computer911-1.16.10

We’re back from our week off, ready and raring to bring you the very best in tech.  The Holiday’s are long gone, but the questions about your new toys are mounting faster than Dudley Do-Right going after Snidely Whiplash (you know, cause he’s a Mountie), that’s why its our quarterly All Question Extravaganza in Episode 41 of Computer 911 with PC Medic.

In the News

• Technology is a Win in Relief Effort for Haiti
• Google and China in International Slap-Fight, and Part of International Espionage Scandal
• Docs seek to stifle patients’ rants on Websites
• Infected PCs Won’t Be Allowed on Facebook
• Nintendo Wii to Add Netflix Service for Streaming Video

From The Bucket

Each week we choose one question “From the Bucket” that is Emailed to us.  If your question is chosen, you’ll receive a free hour of labor (a $60 value) from PC Medic!

Totally Free Apps: Lala

With the days of applications being a soley downloadable executable in the past, we start 2010 by renaming our “Totally Free Download” to “Totally Free Apps.”  We will feature Computer, smartphone, and web apps that are all of course…Totally Free.

This week we feature the web-app, Lala.  From CrunchBase.com:

Lala is a hub for online music discovery and purchasing. Users can listen for free music, adding tracks to their playlist as they surf. members who download a plugin can turn Lala into an online music locker that syncs their desktop music libraries to their Lala account. Long uploads aren’t necessary. If Lala already has the song in their library, they simply unlock the file to you online.

We mentioned a month back that Apple had bought Lala, and we anticipate them rolling it into iTunes, so you may not want to go overboard with the purchase of online songs, but in the mean time, you can always get your freebies, and have an easy way to access all of your music from any computer!

Tags: Android, China, facebook, google, Haiti, Lala, mcafee, Nintendo, Text Message, Wii