Ogden Computers - Tulsa Computer Repair and Maintenance

Is Vista the New ME?

November 4, 2008 – 1:48 pm
For everyone that was around and on computers for the whole Y2K phenomenon, you'll remember Windows Millennium Edition (or ME). This was an OS that failed at nearly everything you could throw at it. It was not user friendly at all. Too many of the functions had changed from previous versions of Windows, making the learning curve much steeper than an upgrade should have. At the same time, nothing significant was added to make it more useful. The OS was buggy and slow. Only two years later, XP came out. XP is said by many to be the best OS designed to date. It has been the primary OS used for the last 8ish years. Well, is Vista going to be experiencing the same short lifespan as ME, or is Vista just the beginning of Microsoft's extremely bloated releases? Whether the second is true ...

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Newsletter October 8, 2008

October 8, 2008 – 9:45 am
Have you ever been in a situation where you stumbled in after an evening of merriment (where drinks were served) and sat down at your computer to begin typing out emails that you normally wouldn't send in your normal condition? Are you an E-Mail addict who can't go for 15 minutes without checking your email? Google has introduced some amazing addons that help you with some of these problems. If you have a Gmail account, go to the Labs section in the Settings menu and see what types of addons Google has added to their mail system. Check it out here

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Watch Where you Donate

September 2, 2008 – 7:51 am
According to an article from ComputerWorld Online, the Phishers are back in action in the face of Hurricane Gustav. In the last 48 hours, over 100 domains have been registered. Now, not all of those domains are registered for the purpose of taking advantage of you. Some were registered so that they could be sold at a later date, and some lead to actual charities to help the victims of Gustav, but just like with Hurricane Katrina, there are always people that want to make an extra couple bucks off of the generosity of others. If you want to donate to the relief of the victims of hurricane Gustav, make sure that you donate to a well established charity whose purpose is to help those in need (select well known charities like Red Cross or the Salvation Army). It is good to be generous, but please be careful when ...

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Digital Privacy Threatened Again

May 15, 2008 – 12:29 pm
The US Supreme Court recently ruled that when entering the country, customs agents have the right to search all of your electronic equipment. Of course, their excuse is so they can ensure that there is no terrorist information, porn, or other illegal material on your computer, but what is really happening is you are losing all of your privacy for your own property and sensitive business data. The Guardian has a nice piece about securing your laptop and other digital devices before you leave so you don't have to worry about nosey customs officials going through all your sensitive data.

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Are Computer Manufacturers Hurting OSS Chances?

May 8, 2008 – 9:33 am
Open source seems to be the new buzzword of the day. It seems like every company that can get their hands on open source software to distribute is doing just that. I think this is a great trend, but are these same computer manufacturers actually hurting the chances of the open source distributions? I recently had the opportunity to help set up an Eee PC for a "new-to-Linux" user. If you don't know, the Eee comes with the Xandros distribution of Linux. I thought it was very interesting that when we started the computer, there was no option available to go from the "Easy Interface," which uses a one click button system, to the "Advanced Interface Mode," which uses the KDE desktop environment which resembles a Windows XP environment. To change to this interface, you have to "Google it" then go through a series of moderately ...

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Tips for Travel - Checking personal information

April 24, 2008 – 9:08 am
One of the biggest problems for travelers today is security of information when using public terminals. If you are a business person who travels a lot, then you probably have your own personal computer which you use when you travel, but if you are a small business person, or just vacationing, then you may not have your own travel laptop. How do you make sure that your information is safe when you access it? In short, there's no way to ensure that your information is secure when you are traveling, especially when you are using a terminal owned by someone else. The keyloggers (invisible programs that log your key strokes) have become very advanced and can now log everything from what you are typing, to what you are copying, to what you are clicking. So, how do you minimize the risk of losing control of your accounts? 1. Change your ...

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$199 Desktop from Wal-Mart

April 15, 2008 – 9:22 pm
There is a new player in inexpensive desktop computing. They're name is Everex, and their computer can be purchased from Wal-Mart. The computer uses components that in today's high speed world, sound rather slow, but they use an operating system that can work with the components more efficiently so that they deliver the same, if not a better experience than Windows Vista. Now, don't let me get ahead of myself. This computer is not for the avid gamer, or someone who wants to install a lot of applications. This computer was designed for people who use their computers to browse the internet, check e-mail, and work with Office applications. The hardware is not exciting at all. It is the software that is the real nice part. Everex has partnered with gOS which is a distribution of Linux that was derived from the Ubuntu distribution ...

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HP joins in Mini Laptop Market

April 9, 2008 – 8:14 am
HP has decided to join Asustek and Intel in the production of a mini laptop geared for students and people who are constantly on-the-go. This laptop is a miniature laptop which will have a 1.6ghz processor and start at just under $500 for the Linux based model. Prices will go up on the model with Windows Vista due to the higher hardware requirements for Vista. No other stats have been released for these computers, but I believe it will be a bit harder to compete with the Eee which starts at $299 for the "Surf" model (only real US competition) or OLPC and Intel who are trying to put laptops in the hands of students in underprivileged countries through donations. It would seem that HP is a little late on this boat. Of course their computer isn't going to fail though. It is more powerful than ...

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How Gullible are You?

April 3, 2008 – 10:00 am
The internet is one of the easiest media to get your identity stolen. Everyday you can open your inbox to find emails from Paypal, Citibank, Ebay, Bank of America, etc. requesting you to go to "their website" to log in and confirm some information. When you follow the link and log in, you believe that you are logging into their website (and you are sometimes), but you are actually doing it through an identity thief's site first. Upon logging in, you have given this person everything that they need to know to access your financial information. The worst part is, you just gave it to them! The reason this is the topic today is because of an article I read about the Army pulling an April Fool's Day prank offering our armed forces free tickets to theme parks. The Army has warned the troops to never ...

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11 Year Old Manages School Network

March 31, 2008 – 8:30 am
When the network administrator at a small private school in Alabama suddenly left his job, the school was aching for a network/computer support administrator. Why not look in the direction of your own students? Jon Penn, son of an employee of the school, was just a sixth grader known for being a wiz at computers. When the school was in desperate need of a computer technician, they asked him if he could look at the network. He did. He found many projects geared to reducing the costs for schools, and rather than spending the tens of thousands that some companies spend on network administration, he spent barely over two thousand to get the school up to date. Read More Here

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