Computer Bargains May Be On The Way

If you are thinking about getting a new desktop computer soon, you might be able to get some great buys over the next few weeks. The investment banking company, Goldman Sachs is reporting that demand for desktop computers "is falling off a cliff."

Motherboard orders for the clone, or white box, desktop PC market has slid nearly 20 percent from its early October peak. Goldman Sachs says that people and companies are not buying now in anticipation of the new Windows Vista operating system that will be released in the first quarter of next year. There is also an increasing demand for laptop computers, thereby helping to kill off demand for desktops.

As motherboards and other desktop PC components pile up in November, Goldman Sachs believes companies will start a price war to clear their inventories. So, get ready for some big bargains.

As for laptops, the demand is outstripping supplies. At an investors conference last week, Acer executives said they expect to be able to procure only 95 percent of the components they need to sell laptop PCs in the fourth quarter, which is the peak season due to year-end holidays.

Also, a massive recall of laptop batteries by major PC vendors such as Dell and Apple Computer has caused a shortage of batteries because it comes at the time of peak laptop demand for the year. The recall was due to defective Sony parts that can cause the batteries to overheat and possibly catch fire. Sony expects the recall to total around 9.6 million batteries.

Free AntiVirus and Spyware Software

As I have said here many times, I love free software, especially as there are so many good one out there. In an upcoming blog, I will tell you about some of the good ones that I have found and recommend. But, for this blog, I will concentrate on free antivirus and spyware software.

Recently, Download.com came out with their top ten list of the best free antivirus and spyware killer software. It is a good list that you should carefully read to see if there is something there for you.

Two of the best antivirus software programs that are on their list are AVG and Avast!. I have been using both for some time now and both perform quite well. I have used Avast! on my office and laptop computer for sometime now and have been very pleased. I recently rebuilt an older computer to use at home since I moved my main computer to my new studio. I decided to try AVG and it is also very good, as best as I can tell. After reading the reviews, I would say that both Download.com and lots of their readers agree with me on the quality of both software programs.

As for spyware detection software, the review lists Microsoft's Windows Defender as a beta software. As of a few days ago, this program is out of beta and is now released as a final version. It is free and available on the Microsoft website. I used it when it was a beta program and found it to be quite good. I don't use it anymore as I purchased CounterSpy (see below). Never-the-less, Windows Defender is a good package and deserves your attention if want one for free.

Two other programs that are on their list are Hijack This and Spycatcher Express. I don't know much about either, but they both got good reviews from users. Might be worth a try.

Another interesting program on their list is a program called CC Cleaner. It cannot be classified as either antivirus and spyware software, but it does sound interesting. It removes unused and temporary files from your system, as well as cleaning traces left by Windows, Internet Explorer, and many third-party applications. It looks like it is worth a try, at least according to the reviews.

There are two other items to relate to you about a couple of commercial software packages that you are probably familiar with. Recently, a friend brought his laptop computer to me because it was running so slow and strange things seemed to going on. After running a couple of tests, I found out that my friend was not exaggerating. It wasn't just slow, it was crawling.

Their spyware software didn't find any issues and neither did their Norton Software. I downloaded a courtesy copy of Counterspy, the spyware software I use. It took over 20 minutes to download over a fiber connection (compared to less than a minute on my own laptop).

After installation, I ran Counterspy. It found that someone had installed a vicious spyware software on my friend's laptop. With this program, they could easily spy on my friend from a remote location, record their keystrokes, and read all their e-mail, just to name a few things. The software can only be loaded manually, not by planting a virus or from an attachment on an e-mail. Identity theft is a breeze with this program. The best we can figure is that someone loaded the software while the computer was in a hotel room (he travels a lot).

The point of this story was to tell you how good CounterSpy is and that it is worth the $19.95 to buy it (there is also a $9.95 annual renewal fee after the first year). I am not sure that many programs could have picked up the nasty spyware on my friend's computer. In fact, the manufacturer of this spyware brags on their website that it is undetectable. Sometimes it pays to pay.

The second part of this story is about what happened after I deleted the spyware. I found the computer was still running slowly. I had heard that Norton software really slows down a computer and my friend had both Norton Antivirus and Firewall software installed. After uninstalling the Norton software, the computer suddenly was much faster and worked normally. By uninstalling Norton, I picked up an additional 80 mgs of usable memory.

So, I guess the moral of this story is that their definitely is some software that is worth buying and some big name brand software that is not worth buying. I hope you get something useful out of all this.

PS: I install one of the free anti-virus program on his computer after deleting Norton.

A Look at Firefox 2

As I mentioned in our last edition, the new Firefox Version 2 is now a reality. Like IE7 it was in beta stage for the last few months, but now it is released to the general public.

First reviews are nothing short of raves. Said E-Week Magazine, "eWEEK Labs found Firefox 2.0...to have the greatest out-of-the-box usability of any Web browser that we have tested (and that's a lot of Web browsers)." They also found it easier to use than any other browser on the market. Meanwhile, the folks at CNET awarded Firefox 2 its Editor's Choice Award.

As we stated yesterday, IE7 is very limited in the operating systems it can run in...while Firefox will work with almost any operating system, past, present and future.

Here are some of the new features, as listed by Mozilla on their web site:

Tabbed browsing. Firefox popularized tabbed browsing, enabling multiple Web sites to be viewed as separate tabs contained within a single browser window, and improving peopleÂ’s efficiency by helping them better organize their desktops. In Firefox 2, tabbed browsing has been further improved with the addition of individual close buttons on each tab, enhanced tab navigation features, and a session restore system that automatically restores previously-open windows and tabs when a new browsing session is started.

Spell checking. Modern Web sites are increasingly complex with the rollout of new, rich Internet applications, such as word processors, spreadsheets and blogging tools. Inline spell checking in Firefox 2 automatically checks for spelling errors and suggests corrections as users interact with Web sites, bringing a common desktop feature to the Web.

Search. Search is one of the most frequently used features of the Web. With Firefox 2, Mozilla improves the browser'’s integrated search capabilities, making it even easier for users to find the information they are looking for. The new Search Suggestions feature dynamically updates a drop-down list of suggested search terms as users enter text into the search bar for Google, Yahoo! or Answers.com search engines.

Web feeds. Firefox users can now take better advantage of the frequently updated content offered by Web sites, with increased options for handling Web feeds. Users now see a preview of the content being offered and are given the option to subscribe to a feed as a Live Bookmark, using a Web service such as Bloglines, My Yahoo!, or Google Reader, or with a desktop application.

Identity theft protection. In addition to its award-winning safeguards for blocking drive-by installation of spyware and unwanted pop-up windows, Firefox 2 helps protect users from identity theft by quickly informing them when they surf to a questionable Web site. To protect users'’ privacy, Phishing Protection is active by default with a local blacklist that updates hourly, rather than sending information to an external online service. An enhanced mode is available where users may optionally elect to have Firefox check the validity of Web sites with a third-party Web service, such as Google, prior to loading the site. Phishing Protection provides warnings, advice and guidance when Firefox encounters a Web site that appears to be fraudulent or malicious.

Proven security model. Mozilla'’s open and transparent community-driven security model helps ensure Firefox provides the safest possible online experience. Thousands of security experts and technical contributors from around the world examine and analyze the Firefox source code, uncover potential threats and vulnerabilities, and work together to quickly identify and address emerging threats. This open, distributed, innovative approach to security puts people'’s interests first and delivers the safest Web experience possible.

Customization. No other browser can be customized like Firefox 2. With thousands of add-ons that enhance the browserÂ’s functionality and features, Firefox lets users personalize their Web browsers to fit their interests and style.

Another feature not mentioned above, but that I found intriguing is "Live Titles." Live Titles are regularly updated summaries of the most important information on a Web page. As the information on the page gets updated, so does your Live Title. For instance, you can track an eBay auction item in one small area of your screen while you continue working on other pages.

To be honest, I didn't get a chance to download it or work with it until this morning. I did find it easier to use and more feature-rich than the last version. I look forward to playing more with its new features. And since I have been using Firefox for over two years now, I recommend heartily that it should be your browser of choice also.

Here are a few links to help you learn more about Firefox 2.0:

eWeek Review

eWeek Slide Show

CNET Review

ZDNET Video

Firefox Head-to-Head with IE7

The New Internet Explorer

Hello, everybody. I'm back. Yes, the art season is finally over and although my plate is still full with my new studio and gallery in Ephrata, I am going to get back in the swing of writing these tech blogs. It has been an interesting few months since we last spoke, to say the least. There are a lot of changes in our lives (mostly good) and those of our family. So, I will write you an update about all this in separate blogs.

But, today, its time to get back to the tech world. Obviously, a lot has happened since my last blog, so I will try to catch you up as best I can with the stories that really matter. One of the big stories happening right now is the release of Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer (IE), known as Version 7. It has been five years since Microsoft released a major revision of IE, which is part of the reason they are losing more and more market share to other browsers like Firefox and Opera.

And, of course, Microsoft has spent much of its time in the last couple of years fixing the security holes that seem to pop up on a weekly basis with IE6. And don't look for that trend to change much with IE7. In fact, a new security hole has been found in IE7 even before it has been sent out. But that is another story.

Here are the facts about the new release: Sometime over the next few weeks, Microsoft will be sending you IE7 as an update release. But, be aware that IE 7 only works with Windows XP using Service Pack 2 and with the forthcoming release of the new Windows Vista operating system. It will not work with older operating systems. When you get the update notice from Microsoft, you will be given the option to install IE7 or not.

If you don't want to wait, IE7 is available now. You can get it from Yahoo, preinstalled with the Yahoo toolbar and using the Yahoo search engine. You can also get it by going to the Download.com website. Microsoft is staggering their release of IE7 to allow their tech support personnel to handle the calls in a reasonable manner.

What is new about IE7? Mostly, Microsoft is playing catchup by adding features that have been available in other browsers for sometime. They have added support for Web standards, RSS Web feeds and, the big one, tabbed browsing. The new browser also offers protection against phishing sites, malicious Web sites designed to trick users into handing over their personal information. None of this is new browser technology. Microsoft has fallen behind in browser software innovation and may never catchup completely.

What are the first reviews saying about IE7? Not great, but not bad either. One reviewer called IE7, "Yesterday's browser tomorrow," while another reviewer called it, "Microsoft's homage to Firefox and Opera." There is little or nothing new in IE7 that has not been available with other browsers for sometime. If you would like to take a video tour of IE7, CNET has a good 3+ minute on-line video.

Should you get it? Probably the answer is yes, whether you use another browser or not. If you still use IE6 exclusively, you will love all the new features. If you use Firefox or Opera or some other browser, you should still upgrade to IE7 as IE is part of your operating system whether you use it or not. Every once in a while, most of us who use other browsers have to resort to IE for one reason or another, so you might as well upgrade.

While the release of IE7 is important, it is now being overshadowed by the release of Firefox Version 2 which has just become available. The first reviews on it came out yesterday and, according to them, it is a real winner. More on Firefox 2 in our next blog.

Is Quality Customer Service Dead?

I am back from a two week road show in Oregon, but only for a couple of days before I head over to Gig Harbor for yet another show. Life on the road is cruel these days...most shows results are far less than last year. Oh, well. Will keep plugging away.

I noticed the following excellent article in the latest edition of "WinXP News." It talks about the low level of customer service that many large companies offer these days, including several examples. I have also noticed the decline of customer service even in many local businesses. I waited for over two weeks for one local company to give me a quote and it wasn't until I went back in their offices that I got the quote. My bad luck to be out of town, even though I had given them my cell number.

Not long ago, I read an article about how many large companies have cut back on their customer relations department and are making more money with bad service and higher fees. Banks especially fall into this category. As you can see from the following article, cell phones seem to be falling into that category.

Something I found out quite by accident is that if you do not sign and return your cell phone contract you might get lucky and not have to worry about being locked in. We never returned our AT&T contract and found out when I called Cingular (remember, they merged) on some other issue that I can get out of my contract any time I want. I don't know if this would work all the time, but it did for me.

Anyway, I hope you find the following article informative and thoughtful. It should make your blood pressure rise.

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Whatever happened to the "customer is king" philosophy?

There are plenty of drawbacks to being older in our youth-obsessed society, but one of the good things, to me, is that I'm able to remember a time when most businesses actually cared about pleasing and keeping their customers - or at least they made a good stab at pretending to. Now many of them don't even try to pretend. Oh, they're falling all over themselves to get your business, but once they have it, you find yourself feeling completely taken for granted.

This seems to be especially a fact of life in so-called "service" industries. Maybe that's why so many of them feel compelled to lock you in with long term contracts obligating you to continue to do business with them or pay a hefty price. We visited that subject about a year and a half ago, when I moved to a new home and discovered that the "two year" contract a security monitoring company salesman told me I was signing was actually a three year contract and I had to keep paying for another 13 months for a service I was no longer using or risk damaging my credit record. Well, hallelujah, that contract was finally up last February, though it took numerous phone calls and certified letters to get them to confirm my cancellation and prevent the heinous "automatic renewal" clause from kicking in.

My latest experience with customer non-service is with our cell phone company, Verizon Wireless. First I have to be fair and say that up until now, I've been pretty pleased with Verizon. I left Cingular several years back because of what happened when my mom died. She had a cell phone with approximately a year left on a two year contract. I wanted to keep the phone and pay out the rest of the contract, but there was a problem. We couldn't find her phone. I still don't know what she'd done with it. I went to the Cingular store and asked to buy a new phone - I didn't expect to get it replaced for free. But they wouldn't let me do it because my name wasn't on the contract. Instead, they wanted me to take out a whole new contract - for another two years - in my own name.

I patiently explained that if they would let me take over this contract, they'd get paid for the rest of the contract term, and if they didn't, they wouldn't because mom was deceased and had no estate to speak of. It would have been in their own best interest because I probably would also have taken out a new contract in my name at the end of that contract term, but I didn't want to be forced into doing that yet. No go. I went to Verizon and they sent "past due" notices to mom for the next six months, threatening to damage her credit and refer her account to a collection agency. I'm not sure what part of "deceased" they didn't understand.

So I've been with Verizon for the last four years and I like their service and coverage. When I renewed my contract last time, I got Samsung i730 Pocket PC phones for both my husband and myself, with unlimited Internet access. I also have my son's phone on my plan, so we spend a nice little chunk of money with them every month. We've been loyal customers and recommended them to others who were thinking of switching cell phone providers.

Then last week my husband saw a new PPC phone they have out, the Starcomm XV6700 (link below). He liked the "side slide" keyboard and the claims of better battery life, and wanted to upgrade from the Samsung. The Verizon web site advertises the phone for $399 with a $100 online discount, so a new customer can get it for $299. That seemed pretty reasonable to us for this type of phone.
http://www.wxpnews.com/9LH8QB/060711-XV6700

Unfortunately, existing loyal customers don't get the same deal. We soon discovered that to upgrade, we'd have to pay $519 for the phone - more than $200 more than the cost for a new customer. The "screw the customer" policy strikes again.

I'm sure you all have your own examples of this policy in action, since it seems to be prevalent all over these days. You see it when you buy a computer from a major vendor - the sales folks are quick to smooth talk you in fluent English, but just wait 'til you've already paid for it and need tech support. You get to wait on hold for long minutes to try to communicate with someone in a foreign country who barely speaks the same language.

And it's not just in the tech-related industries that customer service is doing a disappearing act. I just bought a very fancy Jenn-Air outdoor grill from Lowe's. Paid extra to have them come out and set it up. They didn't tell me until they got here with it and had it all in place that they "weren't allowed" to connect the propane tank. Okay, so how hard could that be? We consulted the manual, screwed the hose to the tank, turned on the gas - and there was a loud screeching noise.

Now what? I'm no propane expert, so I figured the thing to do was call one. First I tried a plumbing company that had done work on some natural gas appliances for us. Sorry, they only handle built in NG grills. Calls to a couple more plumbers yielded the same results. Then I tried a company that sells propane. Sorry, they don't do that unless you bought the grill from them - even for a fee. They suggested I send the grill back to the manufacturer. Now we're talking about a huge contraption that has two "island" wings on each side and spans a corner. It's not like I can even load it in the car and take it back to the store, much less somehow ship it back to the manufacturer.

So we have an enormous grill that cost us $1500 and looks real pretty, but we can't cook on it. I suppose we could throw charcoal in the bottom and use it that way. I'm going back to Lowe's tomorrow to hunt down a manager and plead for some help. I'm willing to pay someone to make the thing work - if I can just find someone who does that. Who knows? Maybe they'll surprise me. I fully understand that sometimes things don't work. I just don't understand why there seems to be no one who'll fix it, even for extra money.

So: is it just me or are others having the same sorts of experiences? Does it seem to you that once a company gets your money, they have no more use for you? Are there some companies out there that do provide good customer service (I've had good experiences with Sears following through and taking care of problems that arise with their merchandise and services). What's causing this decline in customer service, and is there a way to turn it around? Let us know what you think at feedback@wxpnews.com

Top Google Products

As you have read here and other places, Google is no longer just where you go to search the Internet. They are much more than that now and their successes have made them the darling of the stock market.

With that in mind, CNET has put together a review of Google's top 10 products, in their view anyway. I found it interesting reading, especially as their new products come on line faster than I can keep up. You might find it interesting also, so I highly recommend it for your perusal.

One thing that I found interesting was that they reviewed a new product called "Picasa Web Albums" (in beta) and they do mention in passing the parent "Picasa" program, but they don't list it in their top 10 products. A major oversite, in my humble opinion.

AT&T Changes Policy to Accomodate Spying on Americans

My Thanks to the San Jose Mercury News daily tech news summary for this this interesting report. It is presented exactly as written (italics and paragraph changes are mine). Draw your own conclusions as I have done.

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Accused of sharing of consumer records with federal investigative agencies without court-approved warrants, AT&T has retrofitted its privacy policy to allow it to do just that. "While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T," the company explains in a policy revision that will go into effect tomorrow. "As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."

That's quite a change from the language of the previous privacy policy which said nothing about customers' data being owned by AT&T. But not to worry, AT&T says these new adjustments are simply a "clarification" of existing policy. There's no connection between the updated policy and lawsuits claiming that it violated customers' privacy by participating in the government's domestic spying program.

The intention is "to make our policy much easier to read, with more common language and less legalese," spokesman Marc Bien said in an interview. "Our new privacy language does not expand access to user data for AT&T or anyone."

Tough to take him at his word, though, things being how they are (see "AT&T. Your world, delivered (to the Government)," "Big Mother," "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen," and "Big mother, redux"). It's simple coincidence that AT&T, on the eve of a hearing on charges that it assisted in the government's illegal spying on millions of Americans, changes its privacy policy to reserve the unqualified right to exploit the personal information of its customers in any way the company sees fit? Riiiiggggghhhhtttt.....(rolls eyes).

"They're obviously trying to avoid a hornet's nest of consumer-protection lawsuits," Chris Hoofnagle, a San Francisco privacy consultant and former senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told The San Francisco Chronicle. "They've written this new policy so broadly that they've given themselves maximum flexibility when it comes to disclosing customers' records."

Newest Version of Opera is Now Available

Opera Software has officially released the latest version of its popular browser software and it offers several improvements over its predecessors. Opera 9, which had been in beta since April, includes features designed to improve the efficiency of Web surfing, enhance security and allow users greater control over the content they view.

Opera 9 allows users to relaunch their browser where they last left off, as well as block advertisements on a site-specific basis. Other content-related features include widgets, or small Web programs, designed to help users organize their browsing preferences, play games or follow sports teams.

A security bar has also been added to Opera 9, a response to the prevalence of phishing scams and identity theft. The security bar aims to reduce users' encounters with phishing scams and also includes technology to strengthen blocking of pop-up advertisements. There is also a thumbnail feature, which enables users to mouse over an open tab to see a thumbnail preview of the page. Opera 9, which is offered as a free download, runs on a variety of platforms, from Windows to Mac to Linux. It also supports BitTorrent's file distribution technology.

To learn more and to download Opera 9, head over to the Opera Web site. I have always had an excellent opinion of Opera and it is certainly far better than any version of Internet Explorer...past, present, or future.

Europe May Show Us the Way

The 25 European Commission member countries and nine accession countries have all signed up for a plan that could make accessibility to the Internet mandatory. The 34 countries all signed an agreement in Riga, Latvia, last week, committing themselves to the "Internet for all" action plan, designed to ensure that the most Web-disadvantaged groups can get online.

The EC has now pledged to increase broadband coverage across the continent to 90 percent by 2010. Rural areas are still underserved, according to the Commission, with about 60 percent penetration. Urban areas fare better and are already at the 90 percent mark. The EC has also committed to putting new measures in place to increase people's skills in using computers and the Internet by 2010.

The question of accessibility for disabled people also looms large in the EC's plan for inclusion. The Commission is studying the possible introduction of mandatory accessibility standards in public procurement, to be brought in by 2010.

What makes this amazing is that this is 34 separate countries all coming together to agree on the importance of high speed communications, specifically the Internet, for the future of their countries.

We live in one country and we cannot make this happen. We seem to be controlled by politicians who put their own fund raising and political agendas ahead of the good of our country's future. Now you know a big reason why our place as the economic leader of the free world is quickly slipping away.

This lack of leadership and vision is not just at the federal level, but extends all the way down to our local areas. In some areas, leaders are working hard to provide high speed Internet to all their citizens, while in others, people with forward looking vision are in short supply.

Here in my own area of Grant County, Washington, we have a marvelous fiber optic system put in place by our Public Utility District...created by people with a vision for our future. These folks knew that because our County is largely a rural one, no communications corporation would spend a dime to help us out, leaving us in the communications stone age. They made it happen, albeit with some mistakes and errors in judgment along the way.

While the large urban areas of our county are pretty well connected via the system, the rural areas are unfinished because the people with vision have largely been replaced by people with no vision...Bean counters with no imagination or view of the future. These people seem to be on a mission to destroy our fiber system and stop all future development. They shut down the Network Operations Center that monitored the system and they have surplused all the video equipment to provide television alternatives, and of course they fired the vast majority of experts that understood and believed in the system. While these leaders claim they are not anti-fiber, their actions show just the opposite.

The good news for us is that Microsoft and Yahoo are moving into our area and forcing the PUD to continue fiber operations. To turn down their requests for continued fiber growth would be a political death knoll for the anti-fiber politicians who control the PUD Commission, although one commissioner did vote against a rate system to help bring these companies into our area.

Hopefully, the voters of our area will wake up and replace these bean counters over the next couple of years. If you are reading this and don't live in my county, I hope you will ask your leaders the hard questions about your area's communications plan for the future. And, maybe with luck, our federal government will follow the lead of the European Commission and make high speed Internet a mandate for all areas of our country.

It is just hard to believe that one great country like the U.S. can't do the same thing that 34 European countries just agreed to do. I fear for our future when we continue electing fools on a local, state and national level.

Securing your Wireless Network

Thanks to the good folks at "WINXP News" for this short, but interesting article on wireless networks. If you have one in your home or are thinking of installing one, you might find this of interest.
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With wireless fast becoming the easiest and most economical way to set up a home network, we get lots of questions about how to make sure it's secure. Here are some tips for securing your wireless router/access point and computers with wireless adapters:

1. Change the defaults. Wireless routers and access points come with a preset administrator password and SSID (network name). These are usually the same for all routers/WAPs of that model, so it's common knowledge to tech savvy folks. A hacker can use that info to change your WAP settings or connect to your network.
2. Turn off SSID broadcasting. This makes your network visible to anyone in the area who has a wireless-equipped computer. Turning it off doesn't hide it from WLAN "sniffers" but it does keep casual browsers from knowing it's there.
3. Turn on MAC address filtering. This allows only computers whose MAC addresses have been entered by the WAP administrator to connect to the network. It's not foolproof since some hackers can spoof MAC addresses, but it provides a layer of security.
4. Assign static IP addresses to your wireless clients and turn off DHCP, so that unauthorized persons who try to connect won't automatically get an IP address.
5. Use encryption. And use WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption instead of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). For instructions on how to configure WPA in XP, see:
   http://www.wxpnews.com/9LH8QB/060620-WPA_XP
   
6. Turn the WAP off when you aren't using it. This will prevent "war drivers" from connecting to your network and using your Internet connection or accessing the computers on your network.
7. Limit signal strength. The typical range of an 802.11b/g wireless access point is about 300 feet. If you use a high gain antenna, that can be extended considerably. Only use such an antenna if you must, and if possible use a directional antenna that will only transmit in one direction. Test the signal strength to see how far it extends outside your house and grounds and adjust the positioning of your WAP and antenna to limit it.
8. If you're really worried about security, use 802.11a equipment instead of the more popular 802.11b and g. It transmits on a different frequency and can't be accessed with the built-in wireless adapters included in most new laptop computers. It also has a shorter distance range.

Google's New Challenge to Microsoft supremacy

The question is: Is Google challenging Microsoft's supremacy in the office arena? Could be. Just recently, Google launched a web-based spreadsheet program that allows users to simultaneously edit data while conducting an "in-document" chat. Google Spreadsheets supports the import and export of documents in the .xls format used in Excel and the .csv (comma-separated values) format. FYI...Although Microsoft has launched a Web-based office-style system, the spreadsheet portion of Microsoft Office is not on the Web yet.

The launch is further proof that Google is eyeing Microsoft's Office stronghold, but should Microsoft really be worried? In March, Google acquired Writely, a collaborative word processor that runs in a browser. The company hasn't made clear its plans for that product, and it remains in the beta stage of testing. Still, as the pieces come together, there's little doubt that Google is quietly providing Web-based versions of the Office applications upon which Microsoft has built an empire.

Is this new spreadsheet a serious challenge to Microsoft? Probably not. After all, the major users of spreadsheets are companies and organizations. And do you think they would store their spreadsheet data on a publicly-accessed server owned by a company that they have no contract with. Also, the Google spreadsheet does not have the in-depth capabilities contained in Excel, according to reviewers.

Google just keeps on innovating so it will be interesting to watch their growth in the office arena.

Flying with Wi-Fi

If you fly a lot on commercial airliners, you may welcome this news: In-flight Internet access may soon become a reality, thanks to a Colorado company that wants to offer Wi-fi service aloft.

AirCell has announced that it plans to use a newly acquired radio spectrum license to offer "affordable" broadband service aboard commercial airplanes. Formed in 1991, the company already sells satellite-based voice and data services to the general aviation sector, primarily the corporate jet set. The new wi-fi service would begin operations sometime early in 2007.

Just like cafe hot spots, AirCell's idea would let passengers link up any computer or handheld using the 802.11b or 802.11g wireless standards while in the air. The network would work by channeling communications from at least one miniature cell site, called a "picocell,"on the plane to special cell sites on the ground.

AirCell's plan would not conflict with a federal ban on in-flight cell phone use because the proposed network operates at a different frequency than that which could pose interference threats to aircraft navigational systems, according to a Federal Communications Commission official. But offering Wi-fi service also means that air travelers could use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones and applications like Skype to make voice calls, a development sure to make fellow travelers more than a little angry.

Frontier Airlines, which ranks 11th or 12th in size among carriers, is definitely considering a Wi-Fi network for its next phase of in-flight entertainment, but it would likely block VoIP conversations and continue to prohibit cell phone calls. At the moment, AirCell has no other takers in sight.

Precisely how much the company will charge consumers remains unclear. The company says it would aim for a price "well below what one has seen historically in these premium aviation services" in hopes of luring not only business travelers but also the general public.

Big Changes in My Professional Life

(Warning...the following is a shameless self promotion)

Surprise...I am opening a new photo studio and art gallery here in Ephrata. My business has expanded enough that the change was necessary. It has all come together very quickly as a good opportunity presented itself unexpectedly and I went for it.

My new place is located at 256 Basin St NW, next door to the Gourmet Kitchen Store and across the street from the Bamboo Shoot Chinese Restaurant and the Country Deli. I like the location and the park-like setting in front of the store...and I have a great landlord, Ed Forester.

There are two distinct aspects to my business. First, my photo studio is headquarters for my professional photography business which includes wedding and event photography, portraits, and commercial photography. It is also where I create my new digitial paintings for display (and sale) in art galleries and, of course, at art shows around the west coast.

The second part of the business is an art gallery. Here, I will not only display some of my own works, but also quality artworks of other reknown artists from around the country. In my travels, I have met and become friends with many great artists. I have spoken with several of the them and all have agreed to show their works in my gallery.

I plan to run the gallery (however small it may currently be) the same way other quality art galleries are run...by picking and choosing the works to be displayed and changing them out on a regular basis. There will be specific themes selected for each display as well as a featured artist. I am excited about all this and have big plans to help make it a sucess. I want this gallery to be a nice addition to the expanding cultural scene that is unfolding in our area.

When does all this take place? Actually, I have already moved in. All my photographic, printing, and production equipment is mostly in place, although I have as yet done nothing about the gallery. Balancing my current art show schedule with my studio/gallery hours will be tricky for a while, but I will be open on a regular basis, depending on my travel schedule. I will post my hours every week.

Next weekend is Ephrata's Sage 'n Sun event. While I will be gone on Thursday and Friday for our daughter Aimee's college graduation, I will return early Saturday morning and set up a tent in front of my studio/gallery in time for the big event. This will be my announcement to the folks here in the area that I am open for business. I hope you will stop by and say hello.

Searching for Alien Life Forms

Now, there are two ways in which you and your computer can help in the search for alien life from the comfort of your own home. The first way is to join the long-running SETI@home project that lets computer users sift through cosmic data for signs of intelligence. This project has been ongoing for several years and works by downloading and analyzing recorded data when you are not using your computer.

The second and newest method for finding aliens is the brainchild of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who announced plans to install hundreds of video surveillance cameras, equipped with night vision, along the border with Mexico. The cameras, to be located on the land of cooperating private property owners, will be in "very far reaches where it's hard to get to, where there are very few roads in but we know there is criminal activity, drug dealing and human trafficking," Perry said.

The camera feeds will be available on the Internet, where anyone with a computer will be able to put in a shift watching the scrub brush along the Rio Grande for illegal immigrants, with their fingers poised to dial the toll-free reporting number. The first cameras will begin operation in 30 days. Some will use wide-angle lenses, and all will be positioned so they won't reveal specific geographic landmarks.

The $5 million "virtual border watch program" is part of a much larger initiative he unveiled last week. The state will allocate another $20 million to expand "Operation Rio Grande," a program that began in February that sought to better coordinate local, state and federal agencies on the border, but also increased the presence of state law enforcement officers - among them DPS "strike" teams that quickly react to hot spots.

"I look at this as no different than the neighborhood watches that we've had in our communities for years and years," said Perry. Which makes you wonder what kind of neighborhood he lives in.

Feds Want to Keep Tabs of Our On-Line Activities

A Bush administration plan to keep tabs on Web users' surfing habits took a radical turn, worrying tech companies and Web surfers alike. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he wants to require that Internet service providers to save records of their customers' online activities because it is necessary in the fight against terrorism. Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller privately met with representatives of AOL, Comcast, Google, Microsoft and Verizon last week and said that Internet providers (and possibly even search engines) must retain data for two years to aid in antiterrorism prosecutions.

If the feds adopt the approach used by the European Union, Internet companies would be required to save logs showing the identities of e-mail and, perhaps, instant messaging correspondents in addition to data about which customer was assigned which Internet address.

If data retention becomes viewed primarily as an antiterrorism measure, recent legal and political spats could complicate the Justice Department's efforts to make it standard practice. Previously, Gonzales' had emphasized only how mandatory data retention would help thwart child exploitation. This expansion of the role of data retention has many companies and individuals expressing deep concern over legal issues and the right to privacy.

ISPs and telecommunications companies expressed concern about the feasibility of recording Americans' online activities.

"We have real reservations about data retention requirements because of the security and privacy risks attached to it," said Mark Uncapher, senior vice president of the Information Technology Association of America.

After recent reports that AT&T has opened its databases to the National Security Agency, Internet and telecommunications executives have become skittish about appearing to be cooperating too closely with the federal government's surveillance efforts.

The details of the Justice Department's proposal remain unclear at the present time. One possibility is requiring Internet providers to record the Internet addresses that their customers are temporarily assigned. A more extensive mandate would require them to keep track of the identities of Americans' e-mail and instant messaging correspondents and save the logs of Internet phone calls.

Expect to hear much more about this story in the very near future. Privacy and civil rights groups will be weighing in heavily on this issue, you can be sure. History is replete with examples of civil rights being reduced in the name of national security. But, at the same time, terrorism is a major threat to our country and our way of life and we do need the tools to not only go after terrorists after an act of terrorism, but to prevent possible future attacks before they happen. It is a difficult balancing act.

But, quite frankly, most proposals by the Bush Administration these days seem to set off my warning bells.

Will Feds End Spanish-American War Telephone Tax?

The Bush administration has announced it will support ending a century-old ghost of the Spanish American War known as the federal excise tax on long-distance wireless and landline telephone service. Treasury Secretary John Snow said the White House will support a Senate bill calling for the removal of the unpopular 3 percent tax that was incorporated in 1898 to fund the Spanish American War.

"Today is a good day for the American taxpayers," Snow said. "It marks the beginning of the end of an outdated, antiquated tax."

In 2002, Congress passed a bill to repeal the tax and a number of federal appeals courts have called for its removal as well. However, this is the first time a presidential administration has supported the move. As part of the decision, taxpayers are set to get refunds for tax payments made over the past three years.

Exact details aren't known at this point, but it's likely that refunds will be included in 2006 individual tax returns. Snow estimated the refunds will cost the government $13 billion in 2007 and 2008, a huge amount by any stretch but particularly at a time when federal budget deficits are staggering. Inside sources say the government was relying on receiving more than $42 billion from the tax through 2011.

Telephone Scam to Steal Your Identity

It just never ends...crooks out there finding new ways to steal your identity and your money. A San Francisco-based security firm disclosed that it has discovered a phishing con in which the grifters use Voice over IP (VoIP) technology to record data from banks' automated voice systems.

Here is how it works: the swindlers send out e-mails in which they pose as a victim's bank. The messages claim that there is a problem with the user's bank account and provide a number to call to enter personal information about the account. Targeted victims who call the number included in the e-mail are connected via VoIP to a computer running an automated voice-answering system that sounds just like a bank's phone tree.

This new phishing attack is effective because the phone system identifies itself to the victims as the financial institution and prompts them to enter account numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs). The scammers then have complete access to all the financial records attached to the account. Prior to this scam phishers have relied almost exclusively on attracting unsuspecting consumers to phony versions of financial Web sites. VoIP services can reduce the cost associated with conducting such attacks, providing the perpetrators with less risk of discovery.

The schemes represent an unprecedented alteration in phishing tactics. In fact, this new method may have been in use for some time. The risks posed by the scam are serious because there is no evidence that the VoIP providers are even aware of the scam.

Just be overly cautious when you are giving out your personal financial data.

At Last...Full Vista Requirements

After a longer-than-expected wait and a few hints, Microsoft has finally released the specifications about what your computer needs to run their new version of Windows, "Vista," due for release around the first of next year.

In fact, Microsoft has two programs to handle these specifications: First, is what is being called the "Vista-capable" program tells you what computers meet a minimum set of requirements to tout themselves as able to run the new Windows.

The second program is called "Premium Ready." Computer makers who meet higher requirements will be able to tout their machines as "Premium Ready," indicating the PCs are able to take advantage of higher-end features, such as Vista's Aero graphics.

Microsoft has also launched "Get Ready" Web site, which includes an Upgrade Advisor tool to help people determine just how Vista-ready an existing PC is. The downloadable program is designed to tell people which features and versions of Vista their PC is able to run, thereby abstracting some of the complex requirements of Vista. For example, Aero graphics require a certain amount of memory bandwidth--a measurement of PC performance that few people are likely to know about in their machine. The advisor tool will simply say whether a PC will work out or not, rather than focus on specific requirements.

Microsoft also published the official minimum requirements for Vista, largely matching the Vista-capable specifications. Systems need an 800 MHz processor, 512MB of memory, a 20GB hard drive with 15GB of free space and a CD-ROM drive. That guarantees access to Vista's core features, but not Aero and other premium features.

Most computers now on the market should be Vista-capable, according to Microsoft. For example, all systems introduced by Dell this year are Vista-capable. The majority of Dell's Vista-capable machines will support Aero graphics and more than three-fourths of its models can be configured to run the fancier graphics. Dell is also offering 17 custom-configured systems that are designed to support Aero.

Dangers Lurk in Search Engines

We all use search engines when surfing the Web. It is a fact of life. Most of us probably use Google. But, no matter which of the major search engines you use, a new report by McAfee's SiteAdvisor finds that sponsored results from some of the biggest names in the search engine business contain spyware, spam, scams and other Internet menaces.

The study, which was conducted by anti-spyware activist Ben Edelman and SiteAdvisor research analyst Hannah Rosenbaum, found that all the major search engines, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN, AOL and Ask.com, all returned risky sites in results for popular keywords.

Even worse, sponsored results contained two to four times as many dangerous sites as organic results, according to the survey, which combined data from SiteAdvisor's automated Web crawlers and new searches using popular keywords culled from the Google Zeitgeist and other industry sources. During the survey, which began in January 2006, the researchers used 1,394 popular keywords to extract top organic and sponsored search engine results and evaluated the site safety against SiteAdvisor's color-coded safety assessments.

The most dangerous keywords include "free screensavers," "bearshare," "kazaa," "download music" and "free games." Based on the findings, the researchers estimate that Web surfers in the United States make 285 million clicks to hostile sites every month as a result of search engine results.

SiteAdvisor, which I wrote about a couple of months ago, is a free plugin available for Firefox or Internet Explorer Web Browsers. It analyzes and rates each site so that when you do a search, the rating pops up next to each listing that the search engine returns. I use it and heartily recommend that you do the same. SiteAdvisor was recently acquired by McAfee.

Web Calendaring is all the Rage

Getting organized has suddenly become the right thing to do. The reason...Google recently came out with a free on-line calendar that has become a media darling. Now, its no secret that calendaring and organizational software has been around for quite some time. Look no further than my blogs as I have occasionally written about these kinds of programs since I first started writing my newsletter all those years ago.

And, being a somewhat organized person who is always looking for a better way, I have tried many of them...Especially the free ones! These days, I use Lotus Organizer, V.6.1, a program that I once used many years ago and got away from when Lotus didn't do a good job keeping up with Windows. In between times, I used Microsoft's very popular Outlook, Franklin-Covey's PlanPlus, EssentialPIM Pro, MediaBee (for group organization), Yahoo's Calendar, and a few others. Now, I am back to Organizer and am very happy. It works just great for me and I was willing to pay for it.

But, maybe an on-line organizational program may be just right for you. But which one to choose? Well, I suggest you give them all a try, since they are free. As mentioned above, I have tried and am still experimenting with MediaBee for sharing calendars with Susan and other members of our family. Starting this weekend, we live such separate lives with me on the road that keeping up with each other's plans can be difficult. This one may work well for our lifestyle.

I have also used Yahoo's Calendar as part of the My Yahoo program that I still think is outstanding after all these years. I access the My Yahooo page almost everyday to access information that I deem to be important. I don't use the Calendar feature anymore as I prefer to use Lotus Organizer. But, Yahoo has kept improving it over the years and it is a good one.

I've not used the new Google Calendar, but Elinor Mills, a reporter for CNET, has done an in-depth report, not only about the new program, but also switching from her trusted paper notebook that she carried everywhere to Google Calendar. It was a good read.

If you would like to see what the calendar pages look like from the major on-line players, click on this link to see some screen shots.

And finally, you can read CNET's head-to-head review of goggle's' Calendar vs Yahoo's Calendar and see which one their reviewers think is the best. Getting organized is a good thing to do, especially as one gets older and can't remember things as well anymore. Maybe one of the free on-line calendar and organizing programs is just what you need.

Well, I am off to Leavenworth today for my first art show of the year, so my tech blogs may be few and far between for the next six months. But I will try to keep it going when I can.