I love clothes made for geeks because they have tons of pockets to put all my geek gadgets in but I don’t like to look like a nerd. I cant resist ScottEvest clothes but some of their clothes might hint to my geeky nature. Not too long ago, I came across a web site that sells a few nice peaces of clothes with some pockets a geek would appreciate. Originally designed for law enforcement, www.511tactical.com has button up shirts for weapons that geeks might find useful for stashing their gadgets. If you have a minute, check out their Covert Casual shirt. If anyone has purchased this shirt, please let me know because I am thinking about it.

I can’t believe it is here but we are seeing 1 TB hard drives sold for under $200! This price may be a limited time offer but since it is out there, I would not buy any 1 TB hard drive for any more than $200.

The link for this one is the "eco" friendly drive that has variable speeds from 5400-7200 rpm.

Some advice about high capacity drives: At first I was not sure about the investment in a drive that would operate at 5400 rpm because of slower speeds but I have heard from some people that this may actually be better for drives with really high capacities. It seems that because the densities in these drives are so compact, little movements from case fans or even the fast 7200 rpm cause the drive to error and it spends more time correcting errors than an average drive does. So although these new 1 TB drives may run slower than regular drives, a 5400 drive may be quicker than a 7200 rpm.

Psystar is a company claiming to have cloned a Mac computer but they are selling it cheaper than Apple. Called the "OpenMac," you get a 2.2 GHZ Core 2 Duo, 2 GB of memory, 250 GB Hard disk, and a DVD burner to name a few for $400. Apparently there is software they have created that will allow OSX Leopard to install right on the computer. Psystar’s web site is already down which means they are scared sick or it all was a rouse to get Apple to pay them some money.

Im torn here, competition would drive the price of Apple’s goods down however if they became more of a software company with concern to the computer world, they might sell a heck of a lot more copies of Leopard. Don’t know what is going on but I cant wait to see what happens.

In my last post, I explained why it is important to create a restore disc from HP when you get one of those computers with the backup on a hidden partition. HP bailed my customer out by allowing us to order a restore CD for $16. I almost forgot to post the link! If you need to order a replacement disc for your HP or Compaq, use this link: https://warp2.external.hp.com/driver/dr_country_select.asp?Product=5069-6646&lang=en&cc=us 

I just worked on a customers PC and with the help of HP, I turned a computer into a big doorstop. Fortunately for me, there was nothing that I could do to prevent what was about to happen.

If you don’t already know, many computers like HP to name the one I was working on, do not come with system recovery discs. There is a recovery partition that will backup your computer in the event it crashes but you are supposed to create a recover disc if your hard drive fails. Well… My customer as I’m sure most people do, did not make a recovery disc. When I received the computer it was too late. We needed to do a full reformat using the hard drive recovery partition and we followed the steps to do it, hit F10 and select Destructive Recovery. Here is where HP has really screwed up. The system reformatted the C drive first and then opened up the recovery for installing it. This might seem to make sense but I wish HP would make a system to scan the recovery partition first because when the computer tried to install Windows, we got error after error and it was obvious we could not do the restore. Since we reformatted the C drive, we could no longer boot Windows and had no way of fixing it. It is likely that the recovery partition was corrupt which means creating a recovery disc would not work either. The computer went from a virus infested working Windows to a 30 pound doorstop. I dont know if this is a hard disk error or because their is a new virus that is really, really bad.

Fortunately, HP will save you for a small fee. I was able to order a 1-2 day shipping of an XP recovery disc for $30, 5-7 day shipping costs $16. If you don’t want to do this like my customer and I, please make your recovery disc when your computer prompts you or find out how to do it after you have already started using your computer

There are many reasons that your tech guy might need to reformat your computer but it is important to know what is going to happen to your computer after he or she does it. Some argue to reformat once a year, your computer may have had files deleted, wont start, or infested with spyware but when it comes time to do it, you need to be ready.

The main thing to remember when reformatting your computer is that it is going to put back into the same state as when you bought your computer. It will work fast and new but every single peace of software you installed and every file you created will be gone. It is extremely important to backup your data and be prepared to install software that you added after your computer was purchased. If you no longer have the software, you will have to buy it again or steal it again if you are a creep with no morals. You will have to reset your settings, like bookmarks, desktop background etc. Basically, anything that has changed since you purchased your computer will be gone. So be prepared! The last and very important issue is the fact that your computer will be behind in critical security patches from both either Microsoft or Apple if you are using a Mac and they need to be downloaded and installed before you do anything. Again! Backup data! Re-Install Software! Update Security Patches!

Ever been to a hotel where the television is sub-par? Ever wanted to watch the TV schedule you are used to or watch your recorded TV from your DVR? With a little device called SlingBox from Sling Media, you can watch your TV, cable connection, or DVR. I cant tell you how many times I have been in hotels with crappy TV and wanted to watch the cable that was at my house! All is required, is a pretty good Internet connection at your house and where you are and you are set. The device is very easy to setup and there are no monthly or annual fees for SlingBox. The only cost is the cost for the device. Check it out here.

Everyone gets bills and just about everyone I know keeps a copy of them in a file cabinet. As a resolution for 2008, I decided to keep a digital copy of all my bills by using a scanner. What I did not think about as I was buying my scanner is that just about every company puts my bills available online for download in an attempt to save money by asking people to opt in for online only billing. Call me old fashion, but I still like getting a paper statement but I have found that it is quicker to go and download my bills than scan them. I cant think of one bill I have that is not offered online but I have my scanner just in case.

Even though saving files in a computer is just about exactly like filing documents in a file cabinet, I have found that I am horrible at the cabinet and rather organized in my computer. In fact, I can never find what I need in my cabinet but know exactly where it is in my computer. As soon as I get a bill, I go to that specific companies web site and download it. I know many bills are stored online but I like to keep a copy somewhere for reference if needed and usually companies only offer a few months to a year of bills. If I could get in the habit of scanning important receipts, I would be set. Try out downloading a digital copy of your bill instead of keeping a copy in a cabinet, just dont forget to backup, backup, backup!

If you have been waiting to buy a wireless Internet card from Sprint, wait no more. I just purchased the Sprint Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 for use with many of my computers and my new Personal Hotspot Router from Cradlepoint.

This card uses your USB connection of any computer you have, a USB card reader for mini SD up to 4 GB, and has a mini version of the connection software.

Configuring of the card is relatively easy for people who buy the card brand new. I however, purchased the card used at a discount price which makes setup a little harder. For some reason, I could not install the light software on a Vista Ultimate 32 bit machine but was able to install the full version.  Previously owning a Sprint card, I am familiar with their connection software and how to re-program an Internet card. For some reason nothing worked and I had to manually re-program the card with the help of Sprint Customer care. Sadly, it took me about an hour with typical reps who know nothing while reading a script till I got someone who transferred me to their tier 3 tech support. Tier 3 took 5 minutes with a rep who actually knew what she was doing. Once I finished, the card worked perfect and worked like a dream with my Cradlepoint Personal Hotspot Router.

In conclusion, buying a Novatel U727 brand new should be easy enough for anyone to setup and it works like a dream. If you buy a used card, prepare to do a little work to get it working. This card works with Windows and Mac operating systems.

I just picked up my CradlePoint PHS300 (Personal Hotspot 300) which is a very small battery operated router that works with my Sprint EVDO Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 USB Mobile Broadband card. The USB card allows me to get wireless Internet to my computer via Sprint’s cell network. Traditionally, you could only use a wireless card with one computer until mobile routers started appearing. A router’s basic function allows you to share your Internet connection with other devices. There are many other uses for routers including big security protection but most people use them to share their Internet connection with other computers.

I have had different connection cards and wireless routers before but I have to admit, this is the best I have come across. In the past, I have spent days trying to get things that don’t work with each other to work with each other but today that did not happen. Programming the Cradlepoint with my Internet card was as simple as plugging it in and creating a password. Yes of coarse I did a little more things for security of the network but someone could literally plug in their Internet card, create a password, and surf the net. The Cradlepoint PHS300 allows a wireless connection for up to 16 devices but that is not the amazing part. The router works plugged in or via a battery that boasts around 2 hours of operation. This now means I can tuck this wallet sized router with absolutely no wires in my truck and everyone with WiFi enabled phones or computers can surf the net while we a driving down the road.  This means that when I go over to friends or customers houses, we can use the net if needed very easily.

I am so happy with this practically zero config device and I urge anyone with a USB compatible Internet card to look into getting this device. Be sure to make sure you have a compatible connection card!