Well, it’s that time. It’s time to retire the old laptop and go with a new model. My old Compaq Evo N1015e was getting somewhat long in the tooth and for a machine that is 4 years old, still performed quite well, but suffered a little with Office 2007 and Internet Explorer 7.

I saw an ad in the Sunday paper for a laptop that was nicely loaded for a really low price, so I went on a hunt. That particular laptop and its ordering process had some rather concerning issues, so I dug deeper into the ads to see what I could find. One that caught my eye in particular was a Gateway product with 160GB hard drive and 3GB of RAM for a little over $600. This was at a big box store with quantities limited so I hustled down to the store and got lucky enough to pick one up. Just in comparison, My Compaq was ordered direct from Compaq, in 2002, had 512MB RAM and 40GB hard drive. I paid $1200 for that machine and felt I got a great deal.

Normally after the holiday season is a great time to buy a new computer, and particularly a laptop. The stores are clearing out the inventory from the holidays and you can get a great machine for a deeply discounted price. Do you homework and shop wisely. Brand is not really an issue; however I’ve always liked Gateway machines even though I felt their quality suffered when they were purchased by eMachines. Gateway laptops were always big and heavy compared to others, but this machine is very light and streamlined. Obviously weight is something to consider when lugging a laptop around from place to place. So just what do we look for when we are considering a laptop?

Most everyone has a favorite brand, but beyond brand are features. Obviously you want the most bang for the buck, so compare carefully. With most all laptops coming with Windows Vista installed, a large amount of memory, or RAM, is vital. Memory in the range of 2GB would work well. Next would be storage capacity; most laptops are coming with large hard drives in to 200GB range. Another feature that is almost commonplace in today’s laptops is the ability to write DVDs. Be sure the machine you look at can do this. The balance is user preference. I would get wireless networking standard and internal, any screen size over 15” is good, and a good number of USB ports is essential. Despite what salespeople tell you, battery life on a laptop is somewhere around a hour, claims of two to three hours is exaggerated unless you get an upgraded battery pack. Warranty is big for a laptop. Most companies include an year’s warranty but I would opt for a two or three year extended warranty (from the manufacturer, not the retailer) to make sure that machine is serviceable now and for the future.

Desktop machines (towers) can be purchased for much less, but then there’s the portability issue. Carting one of those around in a backpack is counterproductive! The time has never been better for looking to replace that old beater of a computer. Check the sales ads…you never know what you will find!

From: Gary L. Brelsford
School of Technology and Design Program Advocate
Pasco County Campus

When I used to teach high school science classes I always each year would bring up the idea that the only constant in the universe is change.   Whether it is mountains being created and reaching higher, new valleys being formed, new stars being created in some far flung galaxy, there is always something going on and nothing stays the same.  And so it is in our own work lives, where we find people moving on when we least expect it to take on some new endeavor and engage in a new chapter of their life.  This has happened for me recently and this will be my last post for “Technology Musings”. 

I’m moving on to take on a new position and a new set of challenges that goes along with that.   I’m sure someone will fill in my shoes for supplying regular blog postings here, and keep new ideas and topics fresh in everyone’s minds.   In the meantime, for those of you who are students in our programs already or perhaps contemplating a career in technology, I would leave you with these final thoughts.

Demand for workers knowing and understanding technology is huge, and it’s not going away.  I’ve discussed this before in various entries in this blog.  Companies are on the lookout for people that can manage their networks, do programming, create websites, manage and create databases…the list goes on and on.   When the going gets tough in a program you are part of, remember that you will have a nice payoff once you get your degree or certification, and that there are companies that are looking to hire you and pay you a nice wage for making their technology work for them.

You won’t learn everything all at once.  As the old saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”, and you aren’t going to learn everything you need to know in one week, month, or even a quarter.   But over a certain period of time (like the time needed to get an associate’s degree as an example) you will pick up enough skills and knowledge to work well in an area or specialty that you choose to go into.  Be patient.  The jobs and opportunities will be there once you are ready to hit the market.

Don’t forget about your “soft skills” as you are preparing for a job in the technology field.  How well you are able to write a memo or email, your ability to make and deliver presentations, and your skills at communicating with others on a team will often have just as much impact in your performance as being able to do various technical configurations on servers or troubleshooting why a user can’t get their email to work properly.  Don’t ignore these skills and take advantage of classes in communications, public speaking, and others like that to sharpen up these areas.

In addition, here are some good websites to check out for researching the job markets in IT or other careers that you might be interested in:

• www.bls.gov – good site for getting statistical info on different professions.
• www.acinet.org – a Department of Labor sponsored site that includes videos and information similar to what can be found on the Bureau of Labor site noted above…probably somewhat easier to use.
• www.jobseekersadvice.com - a site that provides information on creating resumes, doing interviews, and other facets of finding work that relate to any job area.

For those that are students in the Rasmussen College system, you have seen a number of changes in the IT area over the past two years, and hopefully you will see more as time goes on.   Remember to take advantage of the time you have when attending classes, and to work and get as much out of them as you can.  Remember, Bill Gates was once young and short of funds as well, so your dreams and aspirations are always within reach if you have the knowledge and are willing to work for what you want.

Good luck!

Jim

Here are some other categories of gifts that we could spend a lot of time discussing.  I’m only hitting some big points here.   The best way to figure out the right TV or camcorder is to go the store, check out the pictures, camcorder features, etc, and then look to see if your budget will support what you are looking for (the budget always comes up, doesn’t it?)

Flat panel TVs:  These of course are the rage.  Why buy a TV with a big tube sticking out the back when you can get a flat panel one and save yourself room (and also some back ache) when taking out of the box and setting up.   These TVs come in a myriad of sizes from very small (I’ve seen them under 20” diagonal) to over 50” in size that can fill up a good portion of your room. 

When buying flat panels there are two main types to look at:  LCD and Plasma. 

LCD (liquid crystal display) units can be wall mounted or put on a stand, and have a flat screen and shallow profile as everyone is looking for currently.   These systems don’t have a phosphor coating on the screen, so you don’t have to worry about a “burned in” image on the screen, which can be nice.  Recently, LCD TVs have started to come in bigger sizes, which used to be the domain of plasma ones (which I will get to next).  One measure of TVs now is how the blackest “black” on a unit contrasts to the whitest “white” that can be displayed.  The LCDs do well, but they don’t measure up to the plasma units currently. 

Plasma’s have a more impressive ratio on this measure, and thus will have an advantage.   Also, plasma TVs are considered superior when there a number of different types of images up on the screen (light and dark).  This can be an advantage for playing video games, or for those of you with a real desire to be able discriminate every detail in your favorite movie.  Another factor to look at is resolution (how many lines being utilized to form the picture).  The 1080p mark is the top standard right now.  You will also find 1080i resolution, which doesn’t use as many lines.  If you are big into games, you will want to opt for a 1080p unit.  Otherwise, if you just watch standard shows in HDTV then 1080i should be fine for you.  

I’ve noticed that LCD models will tend to cost less than plasmas as an additional thing to look at.  If you are a real connoisseur of fine detail on movies or games, you will want to pay more an opt for a plasma tv.  If having a very good picture at a decent price and you aren’t so much into games, than an LCD TV is probably what you are looking for.   Both LCDs and Plasmas come with HD-TV tuners (typically if they are over a certain size), so you just need to have a cable or satellite system that is delivering the HD signals to get the nice detailed images for your weekend sports or favorite shows that you like to watch.  All the main manufacturers (Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic) tend to make very good units.  I have seen Vizio at places like Costco and similar stores.   They tend to be cheaper and still have very solid images, although they may lack some of the amenities of the better known brands.   I suggest going to your favorite store, check out the pictures, look over the prices, and determine what makes most sense for you or the one you are buying a gift for. 

Camcorders:  Remember the days when the camera had to be big enough to handle your VHS tape cartridge?  Those days are long gone.  You can now get camcorders utilizing mini-DVD drives and also those that leverage hard drives in the cameras themselves.  

The big choice here is what format do you want the video saved to.   The options include:  DVD, mini-DV, Hard drive, Hi-8/VHS-C.  As I have looked these over at the various stores in recent months, I find myself thinking that the DVD and Hard drive units are the best way to go.  The other options that include some kind of tape (mini-DV, Hi-8) don’t appeal as much to me.   To get that video footage transferred over is not as easy in my opinion, and I have always felt (and experienced) more things going wrong with these kinds of options   If you rule out those options we are left with the DVD and hard drive units that are out there.   The DVD disks can be played in various DVD drives, so not much of a problem there.   However, the amount of time you can record on one (30 minutes to one hour based on the mode you are recording in) is somewhat problematic.  Also, the slow record mode that allows you to get more on the DVD tends to cut down the quality of the video. 

If you look at the camcorders with hard drives in them, you shouldn’t have to worry about the amount you can get on the drive.  A standard 30 GB hard drive unit can record as much as approximately 22 of the small DVD discs that the other cameras use.   Hmmm…sounds pretty good to me.  

Transferring the video content to a home computer for burning on to a standard CD/DVD disk should be pretty easy as well.   I don’t know about you, but getting hours of video on a hard drive before I have to record over or erase previous content sounds appealing to me.   If you have a computer with standard ports on in it (think USB), you should be fine for transferring.   I haven’t read anything negative on video quality either in my perusals of various websites.  You will find prices somewhat under $500 to over $700 or more based on the size of the hard drive in the unit and whether it can record in high definition or other formats.   I would think 30 GB would work well for most folks, but bigger ones up to 60 GB are available as well. 

So, there you have some of my thoughts on other gift ideas for the holidays.  What has your experience been with these products?  Share your stories (good and bad) as you have ventured out looking for flat panel tvs and camcorders.  

Happy Holidays!

Well, it is that time of year again, when many of us are out shopping for gifts for our family members or other loved ones.  Buying gifts for those close to you can always be stressful.  Getting gifts of the electronic variety can be even more stressful given the choices that are available in the different categories.  What I will do here is go over some the basic categories of gifts that are available, and things to consider before you plop down that cash or credit card when buying the gift.

Computers:  If you are considering buying a computer for someone, the biggest decision in my mind is the type you are looking for:  a standard PC or a Mac is the decision you will likely have to make here.  Talk with the person to see what their preferences might be.  

If they are on the Mac bandwagon you will know this rather quickly as they talk about the superior quality of Mac computers to PCs and how the latest OS X Leopard program will be totally sweet. 

If they don’t mention Macs in their conversations, a standard PC from HP, Dell, or Gateway will generally suffice.  When buying a computer you may look to see if it includes some desktop application programs (Microsoft Office or other programs are very standard), and perhaps check on the memory (at least 1 GB, 2 GB is better in most cases).   If the person likes to store photos or music look to increase the size of the hard drive as needed (I would go with at least 250 GB here).  If they are a big gamer you will want to look at the graphics cards available and go with a higher end option here as well.

Game consoles:  For younger people on your shopping list, getting one of the popular home video game systems (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, or Wii) might prove to be the best choice.   There are advantages and disadvantages to these three units right now. 

Currently, it is fairly easy to find the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 at the store you might be shopping at.   Wii’s are harder to find because of their popularity and the way their remote control units operate, where you move them to simulate the swing of a tennis racket or how you might release a bowling ball.   The Wii price of under $300 is also attractive.   For Xbox and Playstation (particularly Xbox 360) you will find more popular games available for these systems.  However, their prices are going to be more than that of the Wii, so this will be something you have to factor in as well.  

If the person you are buying for has been talking a lot about Halo 3, you need to go with the Xbox 360.  If the person is more active and isn’t tied into a particular game, the Wii or Playstation 3 might be the better choice.  The Playstation 3 has very good graphics and is starting to get more games available for it as well. The more information you have on the individual the better off you will be in making the proper choice.  In my mind you can’t go wrong with any of these systems. 

Digital cameras:  In the last four years these have become extremely popular.   The next time you go to a camera store look at how many standard 35mm cameras are still being sold.  You will be amazed how few you can actually find now.  Prices on digital cameras can range from under $100 to well over $500. 

They typically will all take a standard number of pictures and hold them until you download them to your PC (see paragraph above relating to hard drive sizes for computers).  The cost will go up based on the number of megapixels they support (more megapixels, better pictures essentially).  If your loved one doesn’t mind the quality of your photos you can settle for something in the 4-5 megapixel range.  If the person you are buying for is more of a photo nut, then you will want to perhaps look at cameras in the 7-8 megapixel range and spend a few more dollars.  

I will try and hit some other electronic gift item options in my next post.   In the meantime, have you bought electronic gifts in the past and did you have any issues deciding which model or type of product to get?  Did the person receiving the gift like it after you presented it to them? 

Share your stories. I'd love to hear them. 

Well, it’s that time of year again. The holidays are here and life gets put into fast-forward. We scurry here and there, we call everyone and make plans, and we buy, buy, and buy! The problem is…while we do our scurrying, are we paying attention to what we are buying and how we pay for it?

In a recent CBS News “60 Minutes” report, correspondent Lesley Stahl told about the data heist from TJX Corp., the parent company of retailer T.J. Maxx. The problem, it seems, is that retailers store your account information in their electronic cash registers. In a direct quote from the 60 Minutes website, the reason is explained. "They collected too much personal information. They kept it too long. And finally, they didn't keep it according to appropriate security standards..." says Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, who led the investigation of the TJX theft for the Canadian government and the Province of Alberta, and released her findings before investigations in the U.S. are finished. TJX operates chains in both countries. So just how did this happen?

The tech industry has been tripping over itself for many years to keep up with customer demand both here and overseas. In order to satisfy customers, the product sometimes gets released before it is really ready. In the case of TJX, it’s the wireless network system that turns out to be suspect. "This was a case of penetrating the network from without the stores because it is…a wireless network. You can then capture the wireless transmissions if they're not sufficiently encrypted..." Stoddart says.

When you swipe your credit card, your data is often transmitted through a wireless router either to a bank for approval or to the store's main computer. But the signal carrying your information bleeds easily through the walls. If the person outside your store knows how to get into the computers in question, well, disaster can occur. The simplest way to help insure that your wireless system is protected is by using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption on your wireless router. But WEP is tired and has been around long enough that people who really want to get in can just go to the internet and download software that can bypass WEP encryption. So what is the answer? The best answer is to change the password on your router often. Even though this may seem like a simple answer, it probably about the most effective for home and very small business use. We have this silly habit of using one password to protect all of our internet-connected devices. That’s bad news.

Is there good news? Depends on you!

In all reality, passwords need to be changed frequently, especially on devices attached to the internet like routers. If we truly want to protect our systems, we need to get into this very simple habit.

With that, I want to wish you all Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from the Pasco County campus on the West Coast of Florida!

From Co-Author:

Gary L. Brelsford
Information Technology Program Advocate
Pasco County Campus

This year has been an interesting year in many respects.   We have seen Barry Bonds receive much attention for approaching and then breaking the home record.  Just recently a federal indictment was handed down against him for perjury and obstruction of justice.  On the technology gaming front Nintendo Wiis continue to sell like hotcakes a year after they were released.   Good luck on finding one for a family member this holiday season!  In addition, Microsoft Office 2007 was released early this year to some fanfare, but many of you perhaps haven’t really delved into this new version of Office.  Is it worth the upgrade or investment?   I say there is some argument for upgrading to this release. 

One of the big changes to Office is its user interface or how you access specific commands that you want to run.  Before this version you had menus, toolbars, task panes….finding the actual feature you wanted to use was half the battle! 

In place of these interfaces the core programs (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Access) now use what are called “ribbons”.  As an example, in Word you will have a ribbon that contains commands for changing font, color, bolding, etc.   This will appear as a panel that runs along the top of the window the application runs in.  This panel will contain buttons similar to a toolbar that will display the commands in a fairly logical manner.  The first one when you open word will display commands for fonts, formatting paragraphs, using the clipboard….typical items you will use a lot early when starting a document.  Another one will relate to page layout, and when you click that tab button its ribbon will appear along the top of your screen with the associated buttons for that category.  

While these ribbons are certainly different than the standard menus and toolbars we have used for many years, I would suggest they make it easier to find the feature you want to utilize in your Word document and save you time in the long run.  These ribbons will also react based on the context of the document (have you selected something for formatting such as a word or line?).  As you do things on your document, the tabs will adjust (new ones appear) as a result of what you might do next. 

Another nice feature is the mini-toolbars, which appear when right clicking or performing some other action like selecting text.   It allows you then to perform an action (like bolding) very quickly.   If you continue on working, the mini-toolbar will disappear.  Nice touch!

On a future post I will discuss some other new things available in Office 2007.   I know some people have been talking about the interface being too difficult or different and that they want to stay with their older version.  Having it on my home computer now and having worked with it for a while, I understand what Microsoft was trying to do.  I agree with the approach, and feel that most people will adapt to this new office suite in a reasonable amount of time. 

What have your experiences been with the new office version? 

Will you be upgrading or getting it soon?  Let everyone know your thoughts!

Click here for more information on the Office 2007 suite.

When I bought a new computer about six months ago it came with Windows Vista.  I didn’t mind this as I knew this was the latest release from Microsoft and I thought it would be fun to work with it and learn how it differed from XP (those Mac commercials didn’t scare me off from earlier in the year).  As a fairly typical home user I didn’t have a lot of different programs that I would be utilizing to have to worry about compatibility with Vista.   I picked up the latest Office suite which was going to work just fine for me for the types of tasks I perform at my house (basic accounting and documents, occasional presentations, and utilizing Outlook for email and the calendar functions it includes).  

There are many people like me who will pick up the newest OS whenever we decide we want to upgrade and get a new computer.   We don’t worry much about how the new OS will work with other programs, nor do we get overly concerned with the new features or security inherit in it, or how it works in a network environment.

For businesses and big organizations this process of adopting a new desktop OS for the masses is much different.   To adopt a new product like Vista across the enterprise without much testing and analysis is similar to buying a car sight unseen and not knowing what you are getting (yes, you can buy a car from eBay and get assurances on quality, but I’m not sure I could ever do that myself). 

Organizations will often have proprietary programs that they use and will need to test how these programs work with a new OS such as Vista.  Indeed, making sure that programs that are used are “Vista Certified” will be important for the organization deciding on adopting it on an enterprise level.  I actually came across a site that lists programs as Vista certified.  

Are the programs your company uses on a regular basis on this list?  If not, you will want to wait until this problem is rectified and your program works properly with Vista.  Otherwise, you will have some issues if you try to force this “marriage” between the OS and your program of choice.  Many companies like to wait also on the first service pack (SP1) to come out before adopting as well.   Word on the street is this will be available in early 2008. 

In a recent blog I read Forrester Research is saying that one-third of businesses will adopt the OS for the enterprise by mid-2008 time frame.   Is this figure to high, or do you think enterprise-wide adoption will follow this pattern? 

What are your organization’s plans for enterprise wide adoption of Visa? 

On November 15 the HUB at Eden Prairie will have its ribbon cutting ceremony at approximately 1:30 p.m.   Activities will start at 11:30 a.m. with tours, lunch, networking, and other activities leading up to the actual ribbon cutting.  

Some of you may be wondering what the Hub is. 

In essence, this will be an operation at the Eden Prairie campus that will be designed to help individuals achieve various IT certifications.  Certifications that people will have the chance to attain through the Hub includes A+, Network+, MCSA, MCSE, and CCSP.  Other certifications will be made available on a regular basis so our catalog of offerings will be expanding.  

The students in Hub courses will be utilizing a blended model for learning the various topics in their certification courses.   Online vlabs and multimedia presentations will be available in the online portion of these courses that will be accessible anytime of day as long as the student has Internet access.   The vlabs in particular will be key elements in many of these courses as students will be connecting into real equipment and be able to practice configurations and performing other tasks associated with the hardware/software in question.    In addition, the students will be able to utilize the IT lab at Eden Prairie and make use of the PCs with removable hard drives, network access, Windows 2003 server, Cisco routers and switches, and other equipment and tools that will help them learn the objectives of each course.  

I have talked about IT certifications before in the past in different forums, including this blog.   Many companies still look for certain certifications as a way to demonstrate a certain knowledge level in a particular technology.   Also, these certifications are a way to differentiate you from others who might be applying for the same position. 

For those of you in the Twin Cities area on November 15 feel free to stop by and get a look at the Hub at Rasmussen College.  

Are you up for the challenge of gaining some new certifications?

Identity theft is seemingly everywhere.  Based on our electronic world that we live in, crucial data about your life is being held in various databases by the federal government and also private companies.   Just how secure is this data?  You might be surprised when you look closer. 

We have all seen the headlines of credit card companies that have had millions of card numbers that have been compromised.   But how often do data breaches really occur?  Just a simple recap of recorded breaches since 2005 will blow your mind.  

As I scrolled through what must be hundreds of breaches with information including the organization, what occurred, and the number of records affected, I started wondering if people who haven’t had an issue with identify theft or with illegal use of their credit card numbers might be in the minority in the coming years.   To be fair, not all the breaches were electronic in nature (many involved W-2s and other paper documents). 

However, with most people assuming that electronic storage is more secure, it is sobering to see the issues with other types of records occurring as well.   Laptops seem especially vulnerable to theft, misplacing, I think I left it in the taxi, etc, so we should be doubly concerned about those types of situations as well.   I was involved in one myself when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had a laptop stolen with the records of 26.5 million veterans (including mine) on it.  The hard drive was eventually recovered.   The Veterans department felt that none of the records were compromised.  I feel so much better now!

What hope is there for these problems to get rectified?  I read recently where a company (TJX Companies Inc.) that many credit card companies worked with that had a breach with their records - they are now being sued it looks like by the companies (banks) that were affected.   I believe many companies play a game of burying their heads in the sand when these breaches occur.   If they get exposed, they try and keep it quiet and hope their reputation isn’t tarnished too much so they can keep making money.   If more companies take the time to sue and make companies like TJX really pay for their oversights, then we all might start feeling better about our data.

What do you think about this topic?  How safe is your name, address, social security number, birth date, etc…….?

I’m sure you all remember the first time you actually got hooked up to the Internet and saw your first website (ok, maybe not, it’s been a while!). 

I was just playing around with my IBM PS/2 and hooking into the Internet by modem over a dial up connection around 1992.   I had a few BBS (Bulletin Board System) sites I frequented as I sought information for classes I was taking and also getting used to communicating through this new medium.

Later in the 90s we saw the advent of what we would recognize as websites today (although not as interactive as we see today) and people became more attuned to the idea of searching the web for information and using its resources. 

I first used Mapquest in 1999 and really felt that this was a great idea and I liked how the Internet in general was evolving.   During this time I worked at an ISP and helped get various websites up and running and provided assistance where necessary to ensure a good process for our customers.   Whether people or organizations were selling different goods or services, pictures of themselves or others, or offering advice we tried to treat everyone fairly and felt that this was an arena where we wanted everyone to feel that they could have equal access to the bandwidth based on what they were paying for and what our network could support.  It seemed like a simple concept and one that I thought was still being promoted even today.  

Apparently not!

I just found out that Comcast is engaging in a practice where they are delaying the file transfers for peer to peer (P2P) traffic in order to lessen the traffic and make the network work faster for most people in general.  This topic came up in a recent post on ZDnet and the author correctly points out, this would seem to open up other options for ISPs to manipulate data flow on the net in order to make things run smoothly (you don’t need to watch those Youtube videos about Britney Spears now do you!).

While Comcast is saying that these transfers are still taking place and that nothing is being cancelled on these types of requests, it has to make one wonder what might be happening down the road for the sake of speedy communications and web surfing.     As a Comcast customer myself I will be watching things more carefully in the coming months to see if other tasks I do are starting to become affected.  

I would liken this to the Federal Government making a law that only model year 2004 and later cars can be on the interstates between the hours of 8am – 5pm in order to facilitate overall traffic flow.   I think many people would be outraged by this kind of ruling, yet Comcast has established a similar policy now and few people seem to know about this.

What say you on this interesting topic?