Technology giant Intel has introduced a new site called How Strong is Your Password? This website takes a password that you would like to use and tells you how long it would take to crack it. This is a good tool to use when signing up for a website or service so you know just how strong your password is. The website makes it clear that you should not use this service with your existing passwords, [...]
The next generation of Intel’s Thunderbolt technology (connects external peripherals to a computer) is supposed to double the speed of its predecessors. They announced at the National Association of Broadcasters conference that the technology supports up to 20Gbps bidirectionally (up from 10), which basically means they can transfer a 4K video and put it on screen at the same time. Not only is it a huge improvement on what we are currently using, USB 3.0, [...]
With so many choices, shopping for a home music system can be nothing short of overwhelming. We’d like to offer some information and tips so that you can find the right system at the right price. This article is mainly geared towards folks trying to put together the best hi-fi on a fixed budget. There are plenty of wireless systems out there, but dollar for dollar, wired speakers will always sound better than wireless models. [...]
Stamen Design, a San Francisco-based design and technology studio, has created an free Web utility that helps you take a section of the map and create an image that you can use for a desktop background. The process is simple and only takes a couple minutes! All you have to do is open a browser and visit Map–>Image and choose a location. You can zoom using the “+” and “-“ buttons on the left, and [...]
Here are a few minor tasks you may not have gotten to last year. Now is a great time to catch up on your tech-centric errands so you can start the new year right: 1. Back up your files. Do this one immediately and often. When your hard drive breaks down or your laptop gets stolen, you’ll be glad you did. You can accomplish this by using an external hard drive or cloud service. 2. [...]
Square’s Mobile Card Readers can now be purchased in-store at 7,000 Starbucks locations nationwide. They’re going for $10.00 but customers can get a $10.00 rebate if they’re new merchants or if they sign up for Square’s service. These devices are great for small businesses, making card transactions simple and fast. Starbucks invested $25 million into Square last year and has been working to expand Square’s presence in the United States. In November, they started supporting [...]
An external hard drive can be an extremely useful asset. Not only can they increase your storage capabilities, but can provide a backup for your data in case of emergency. Many are sold in preconfigured packages by manufacturers, but it is increasingly common to see users purchase external hard-drive enclosures so they can use the drive of their choice. This is helpful because you can replace the enclosure’s drive with a larger one when your [...]
Most of you have Adobe Reader on your computers. The latest version when it updates, has a sneaky attempt to install MacAfee Security Scan Plus, which is worthless scamware. The download installs software from McAfee (of all people). After installation McAfee Security Scan Plus runs and presents a screen that is basically intended to scare you into switching your anti-malware solution to McAfee. For example, IE9?s SmartScreen is built in to try and protect from [...]
We’ve gathered some insider tips on using the new Windows 8 more efficiently: Dual Monitor Functionality: You now have the options to extend your taskbar across both screens, designate different desktop wallpapers to different monitors with a right-click (in the Desktop Background section of your Personalization settings), and conveniently move your apps between monitors using Win+PgUp or Win+PgDn. You can now hide “Recent Items” in your Jump List (Windows 7) in case you didn’t want [...]
For those who are planning to upgrade to Windows 8 or Microsoft Office 2013, we offer some words of caution regarding Google Synchronization. We ran into considerable trouble with the compatibility of Windows 8 and Outlook 2013 with Google Sync. Indeed, it is not compatible at this time. Users will have to wait for updates that will allow Outlook and Windows 8 to work correctly with Google Sync. Customers who subscribe to our EasyCloud platform [...]