We've Moved!

My apologies for not updating you sooner. I could say it's because I've been to CES in Las Vegas or that I've been busy getting the new Blog/Podcast sites set up but it really comes down to just plain procrastination! I registered www.viewsfromthecoop.com late last year and moved all of the Views from the Coop Online and On-the-Air stuff to the new site. I'll be using this website and this blog for 2 Smart Chix business purposes in the future.

If you've been following Kristi "Chickitoo" Hicks and me online with the Coop Crew and/or with Lee Buhr and me on-the-air, you can keep up with us on our new blog. If you're subscribed to our podcast, you've been getting all the newest shows, both online and on-the-air.

Please visit the new Views from the Coop website to see what we've all been up to and to watch it grow. We plan to add tips, tricks and product reviews to the site as well as a contact form for your questions. Thanks for all your support and we'll be seeing you on the new Views from the Coop website!

[And the Views continue...]

Episode 39: What's on YOUR Tekkie Wish List for 2006?

My list is short:

• An iPod...I've never had one and Kristi has been singing the praises of being an iPod owner forEVER....and she's ready to upgrade (more on that later) so I'm thinking maybe we can work something out for the one she's ready to retire (you did say it was a video iPod, didn't you, Kristi?)
• A Sony eBook Reader...I love to read but I get tired of having to flip pages. I don't want to read on the computer because I like to read laying on the couch, which mean I drop the book I'm reading when I'm flipping those darn pages and I lose my place. Sounds like this is what I gotta have....!
• An Air Guitar T-shirt...You heard me right. I want a t-shirt that lets me play air guitar with REAL sound. Rick, my musician husband, managed to teach me the G,C, & D chords before I gave it up. It hurt my fingers and I didn't want to play bad enough to wait until I'd developed calluses. Beside, why would I want calluses on my fingers????? If there's an easier, painfree way to make the chords, I'm all for it. Besides, husbands and wives should have mutual interests, don't you think???? It looks like I'm gonna have to wait until Christmas of 2007 though before it's available commercially. BTW, you can hear an interview with Dr. Richard Helmer of CSIRO in Australia about how it works.

Ready for the LONG list from our resident Gadget Queen?

• The DLO HomeDock Deluxe... "the world's first iPod dock that lets you view and select your iPod's music on your TV screen. It'll change the way you experience your iPod, your music, and now your iTunes Movies!"
• Don't wanna watch a movie on your little bitty iPod screen? Neither does Kristi, even though she will; at least until she gets her Portable Multimedia Tablet-Style DVD Player with 7" Active-Matrix TFT LCD Screen from iLuv!
• The Mio DigiWalker™ H610, a portable, hand-held GPS device that keeps you from getting lost when you're on foot, riding your bike and yeah, even if you're in your car! Kristi's trying to build up those activity points!
• The Media Tank - somebody's got too much stuff on her desktop.....
• THE only tool you'll ever need...why of course, it's a Swiss Army Knife...but not just ANY Swiss Army Knife!
• HDTV on your laptop? Who else but Kristi would find a gadget like the PCTV HD Pro Stick from Pinnacle?

We heard from regular Coop Crew members, too:

• Mary wants a good USB hub with plenty of ports!
• Lonnie's got Linda...what else could he want?
• Fritz and Jean want to wake up Christmas morning (c'mon, Fritz, you're not THAT old!!)

And if that's not enough to keep you busy, check out the Show Notes for links to our Websites, Video, Tips and Tools of the Week! Don't forget to mark Friday, December 1 on your calendar when we'll be exploring the world of Open Source!

[And the Views continue...]

Episode 38: Security Education for PC Users - Is it Pointless?

According to Stefan Gorling, a doctoral student at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm,Sweden it is. After my initial disbelief that anyone could call education of any kind pointless, I settled down to read the CNET article that reported Gorling's comments at the Virus Bulletin Conference. He has a point...up to a point! From the perspective of an IT manager, he's probably right that no matter how many times he tells users on the network NOT TO OPEN THAT ATTACHMENT, they inevitably do it anyway...oops, they forgot! End users, he claims, are interested in using their computers to do their jobs and aren't the slightest bit interested in security. That's the IT department's job. OK, Stefan, you do have a point. Having been in that situation before as a tech in a local school district, I hear where you're coming from. I have to say, though, that for every user who made me want to take their mouse away there was another who was profoundly thankful that I shared some easy to follow security tips that helped them keep their PC free from pop-ups, spam and adware. I also dealt with the lack of support from management to take away computer privileges from purposely careless users. Users who don't have to pay for their carelessness rarely stop to think about what they were doing before they do it. Hey, Paige will fix it! I've learned over time that there will always be people who will want to keep applications that are proven security risks just because they like them...that is until their favorite security risk crashes their computers, then it's the fault of the technology department for not protecting them!

It seemed to have been the general consensus of the Coop Crew today that education is NOT pointless and actually plays a big part in keeping networks more secure; if not networks, then workstations in home situations that are connected to the Internet. When users are at home, they ARE the IT department! We did have a spirited discussion and even had comments to share from folks who weren't able to join us live online (Thanks Fritz and Mary Ellen) but wanted to put in their two cents worth for the benefit of the rest of us.

As always, we shared come Cool stuff with our listeners which I am repeating in this blog for those of you who couldn't join us:

• Cool Website of the Week: CurrentCodes.com - Visit this site before you complete an online checkout that gives you the option to enter a coupon code. You can search here and find hundreds of coupon codes used by online merchants. The item you're about to purchase just might have a coupon code listed!
• Cool Video of the Week: Marcus, the cat, meets Hewlett Packard, the printer - If you have a cat and if you use a printer (and it doesn't even have to be an HP) this video could very well look very familiar. Watch Marcus in action as he defeats HP's best efforts to print pages!
• Tip of the Week: Let Windows automatically generate strong password for your XP user accounts - If you can't think of anything besides your pet's name for a password, then let Windows help you out. Just remember, once Windows generates your strong new password, record it somewhere so you'll remember it...then eat the paper you wrote it on once you have it memorized!
• Cool Tool of the Week: VoIP handsets for Skype and Vonage - Gone are the days of heavy, clunky, VoIP handsets that have to be connected to your computer. Skype and Vonage are now offering handset that look like...well, handsets! If you've been thinking of switching to VoIP but haven't like the idea of being tethered to your computer in order to make calls, check these out!

You can also check out our Show Notes.

Once again, we've had to rearrange our podcasting schedule to accommodate our personal schedules. Friday at 9am CST still works. Every two weeks still works. What doesn't work are the Friday's we picked to podcast SO we're switching them. That means our next live show will be on Friday, November 17. You'd better not miss this one because Kristi and I are going to share our Christmas Wish Lists and you can be sure there will be all kinds of cool tekkie gadgets on it. We're even going to tell you what we DON'T want to find in our stockings! Join us and share your own wish lists. Should we draw names this year, or what?

[And the Views continue...]

Congratulations to Mary of Bland - The Lucky Winner of the Aviator Laptop Stand from Keynamics!

Thanks to everybody who participated in the contest for an Aviator Laptop Stand by leaving their comments on our blog. Our winnner, Mary, was thrilled and we know her son, Jonathan, will make good use of the Aviator on campus. Fritz and Jean, we missed you but hope you're having a fun (and safe) road trip!

We had a great show today with special guest, Greg Bright, of Keynamics. Greg is himself a graduate of the school of hard knocks and as a road warrior himself, he realizes the long-term effect proper positioning, both of the laptop and the user, can have. I hope you take the time to review the shownotes and explore some of the links. I also want to encourage you to support the Greg's ergonomic study by visiting his website and finding out how you can get involved.

If you weren't able to join us, you can listen to the podcast (which I'll have posted later today). Feel free to review our shownotes and check out the links.

We'll be back online Friday morning at 9 CST on October 27, 2006 when we'll be discussing the merits of computer user education! I chose this topic after reading an article on CNET's news.com citing the views of Stefan Gorling, a doctoral student and security expert from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Please join us and add YOUR views on Stephan's comments! If you won't be able to join us, you can still add your 2 cents by leaving your comments! We'll be sure to share your views on the next episode!

[And the Views continue...]

Win an Aviator Laptop Stand from 2 Smart Chix and Keynamics!

Do you own a laptop? If you do, you'll want to check out the Aviator Laptop Stand. Not only does the Aviator help you keep your laptop positioned in an ergonomically beneficial position, it's small (3 interlocking pieces that store in an area 1/2 inch wide, perfect for your laptop case!), light (only 9 ounces)and raises your laptop to promote airflow and prevent overheating.

All you have to do is post a comment to this blog and tell us why you want an Aviator. We'll be sharing your comments with Greg Bright of Keynamics and on Friday, October 13, we'll announce the winners on Views from the Coop!

[And the Views continue...]

An Interview with Jeremy White of Codeweavers: Episode 37

Kristi and I welcomed Jeremy White of Codeweavers into the virtual coop on Friday. Jeremy is quite a busy guy now that the public BETA of CrossOver Mac has been released. CrossOver Mac is an application that works on Intel based Macs that allows the user to run some Windows applications without having to install the Windows operating system. Codeweavers maintains a Compatibility Center where Mac users (or potential Mac users like Kristi and me) who are interested in CrossOver Mac can findfinding out what Windows applications currently run under CrossOver Mac. If you'd like to hear a review from someone who has given the BETA a try, listen to Mac Chik, Allison's, podcast from 9-17-06.

Besides the great interview we did with Jeremy, we also shared a website, a tool and a tip with our listeners:

• Website of the Week: The Get Human website - a website dedicated to human interaction over the phone. Check out the database!

• Tool of the Week: The Keynamics Aviator Laptop Stand, an ergonomically correct laptop stand that's easy to assemble, small enough to store in your laptop case and keeps that airflow going to help prevent laptop overheating! This is a true crossplatform tool!

• Tip of the Week: Rename the Administrator Account in Windows XP - Make it twice as hard for potential hackers to get into your system by renaming the Administrator account.

Due to schedule conflicts, Kristi and I have decided to reduce our podcasts from weekly to bi-weekly. Depending on how things go, this may be temporary...it may not. Our next show will be Friday, October 13 when we'll be talking to Greg Bright, the owner/inventor of the Aviator. We also hope to welcome Dr. Kathy King back to the Coop with Greg to discuss the long-term effects of ergonimics on kids using laptops on a regular basis. Check out their project website. Greg has also generously given me a couple of Aviators to give away to two of our faithful listeners. If you'd like to try your luck at nabbing an Aviator, all you have to do is post a comment to this blog and let us know why you want one! Kristi and I will be reading your comments and sharing them with Greg. We'll be giving away a couple of stands on our next show to the two folks who convince us that they need an Aviator the most, so get your comments ready and start posting!

[And the Views continue...]

Is Your PC Healthy? - Episode 36

If you take care of your body, your body will take care of you. The same can be said of your PC. Performing regular maintenance activities will help your PC maintain the performance level you need to do all those things you do. Neglecting our PCs health can lead to sluggish peformance and even crashes, some of which you may not recover. You can end up with lost data, lost time and a lost temper! Kristi and I shared some regular maintenance tips with the Coop Crew this week and they in turn shared the things they do (or neglected to do) with us.
I get regular newsletters from TechRepublic and not a one goes by that I don't get some really great information. During this week's show, I shared tips for optimizing your computer's performance and warnings about things users do that can really mess up their machines...sorta like a list of things to do and things NOT to do. I got all of them from TechRepublic. If you haven't visited their website, they have regular "Top 10" articles that usually end up saved on my computer. I've even gone back and read them again. You have to register for a free membership to download the articles but you can read them online without registration.

As you might remember, Kristi was the victim of a crash earlier this year...and you can bet SHE remembers! She admitted that there were some telltale signs (like slowing down among others) that made her think there might be a problem. The same goes for any computer. Most of the time, your PC isn't going to just crash without some warning. You notice your system's performance getting worse. You might be tempted to wait it out and hope it fixes itself, but that's rarely the way it works out. Regular maintenance, both hardware and software, can help ensure that those warning signs don't appear.

If you want to know what you can do to practice preventive instead of corrective maintenance, check out these two GREAT articles at TechRepublic (and listen to the podcast):

• 10 things you can do to optimize and maintain your PCs
• 10 dumb things users do that can mess up their computers

You can read our Show Notes for the website, tip and tool of the week. As always, we hope you'll join us live some Friday morning at 9am CST and share YOUR views on whatever tekkie topic we happen to be discussing!

[And the Views continue...]

Got Storage? - Episode 35

...and I'm not talking about your basement or your hall closet! I'm talking about storage for all those pictures, audios, videos and miscellaneous text documents you have on your computer that are slowly but surely eating up the space on your hard drive. What's a digital packrat to do?

Kristi and I discussed several topics related to data storage, including:

• Memory vs Storage - Is there a difference?
• Types of Storage - Primary, Secondary and Network Storage
• Storage Characteristics - Volitile vs Non-Volitile, Random vs Sequential Access, Read vs Read/Write
• Storage Capacity - How much is enough?
• Storage Devices and Media:
• Hard disk (internal and external)
• USB Flash
• Floppy disk
• CD-R and DVD-R
• CD-RW and DVD-RW

We also shared a new website of the week: The Richard Show, a great video blog

Our Tip of the Week: How to Automatically Login to Windows XP

Cool Tools of the Week:

• ZYB.com - Back up your mobile phone for FREE online!
• GMail Drive Shell Extension - Use your Gmail account as additional storage!

Even if you have lots of storage available to keep all your pictures, movies, music and other stuff, don't neglect regular housecleaning! We'll be discussing how you can maintain good PC health on our next show. After all, we all know what happens to that hall closet if you don't keep the contents under control...

[And the Views continue...]