Big PC Geek Tech Blog

Here are just some of the cool features built into Google. Try them out and you might find Google opens up a whole new door for you.

Use quotation marks – To find documents with the exact phrase in them, use quotes.

Use the + sign – Use the plus sign in front of words to make sure it will be included.

Use the – sign – Use the minus sign in front of a word to eliminate it in the search.

Try a Wildcard – Inserting a * in between phrases will result in any word within that phrase.

Dictionary - Google is a dictionary, type (define:) before a word to get the definition.

Calculator – Google is a powerful calculator, just type (2+2) and remember the proper order of operation for more complex problems.

Site search – Type a word and then (:edu) to find results only in the .edu domain. Works on all domains, .com, .gov etc.

Synonyms – Use ( ~ ) to search for synonyms of the word you type.

Use OR – Type “snake” “dog” or “cat” to get search results with snake and either dog or cat.

Numerical searches – Type (Ronald Reagan 1984…1989) to get results on Ronald Reagan during this time period.

Conversions – Type (32cm to ft) to get a centimeter to foot conversion.

Questions Answered – Ask google a question as a statement. If you want to know the US population, type (“is the population of US”).

File format – To find a specific file format, type (filetype:) and the file type.

Scenario: You have too many passwords you have to remember for tons of web sites. Let’s face it, just about everyone uses the same password or couple of passwords because it is too hard to remember passwords for so many web sites. The problem with using the same password for multiple web sites is that some web sites are better at securing your data like your passwords than others. If "Joe Hacker" discovers your username and password at "someblog.com" he or she might try to use it at bankofamerica.com, chase.com or every other online banking institution to gain access to whatever bank account you might own.

Enter Password Maker! Best used with Firefox, Password Maker securely uses one password you pick and creates a password using your master password and the web site domain name you want the password for. This allows you to have a different password for all your online accounts without having to remember a different password. I find this tool works best as a plugin for Firefox, quite possibly the world’s best web browser because it creates a button and does all of the work for you. Basically, you click a button, enter your master password, and copy and paste the password created.

I have tested the firefox plugin in in Windows Vista, OSX 10.6, and Ubuntu 9.04 and it should work on XP and Windows 7. For more information go to: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/469 or http://passwordmaker.org/

Security Tips for using this program:

1. You Master Password should not be the same as any of your usernames for your web sites.

2. Don’t save your master password in the program. Enter your master password every time for added security.

3. Use longer passwords, the default is 7 in Password Maker but there is nothing stopping you from having a long random password that is 20 characters, accept a poorly designed web site requiring short passwords.

4. Add an additional password only you know in addition to your created password from Password Maker. This should not be the same as any usernames or your master password. For example, if the password generated for your bank account is "09rl-sle" add a word or phrase in front of behind it making your password something like "goodpassword09rl-sle."

5. Never share your usernames, passwords, or master password with anyone.

Just wanted to take some time to say the HP CM1017 Multifunction Color Laser printer is a really great choice for small businesses and homes. This printer is not for someone who needs amazing photo prints and is not for someone who needs microscopic scanning but it is a really affordable workhorse for any small office. I’m not going to go into the details like print speed but rather point out a few facts that is essential for my office:

• Built in ethernet port, this machine is network ready so all computers in the office can print to it.
• Color Printing.
• Built in scanner and copier.
• Memory card reader.
• 250 sheet paper tray

One thing that is missing is a fax machine but in my case, I would rather not receive spam faxes all day. You should also know the scanning bed is only for 8.5 x 11″ scanning.

I purchased my printer on March 14, 2008 and the toner cartridges are about 75% full after going through a ream of paper. This printer is made for a small business or home, not for a big business, and not where you will be printing over 100 pages a day.

All you need is $250, a one time fee for the equipment, and you have free phone service for the rest of you life, that is if the company stays in business that long. Ooma is a pretty revolutionary device that uses your internet connection to make regular phone calls. The amazing difference that Ooma has over many of the other VoIP phone systems is that it is built to use the infrastructure in your house. The only important thing you must have in order for Ooma to work well is a decent high speed internet connection.

The installation is easy, you put the Ooma main device between your internet modem and your router or computer and also between a telephone jack and your phone. The connection from the Ooma hub to you phone jack is only necessary if you want to use the other phones in your house with Ooma. That’s right, you can  use any of your other phones in your house with Ooma. A little device called the Ooma scout is required but for every other phone jack that you want a phone on. Ooma will work with your existing phone number or you can eliminate the monthly bill from the phone company and port your number to Ooma. I have high hopes of Ooma to survive because they have a great business model with tons of extra features they call Ooma Premier and you get them for free for 60 days with your purchase.

Here is what you get with basic plan:

• Ooma Hub and Scout.

• Unlimited U.S. calling.

• Caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail.

• Low cost international rates.

• Hear voicemail not only from the unit but also from a web site.

• More little features here and there

Here is what you get with the Premier plan:

• Everything above.
• Instant second line, yes you can be on the phone and someone else can pick up a phone and make a call.
• Three way conferencing
• Message screening (works just like a traditional answering machine).
• Send to voicemail.
• Voicemail forwarding to email so you can listen to messages from email.
• Do not disturb
• Personalize a second number on all Ooma devices or one specific one.
• Private voicemail.
• Customer rings for callers.

I have been very happy with my purchase of the Ooma phone system. It was very easy to setup and configure. I got mine on Amazon.

Given some recent events, I decided to get a camera system. For the low price of $700 found at Costco.com (at the time of this writing), I feel I have had good enough results with the Q-see QSD6209 9 channel DVR System. As far as functionality, this thing is far from professional but is good enough for a one day project for any DIY’er.

First the good:

• Price – $700 for a 9 camera DVR system is a great price
• Bigger Hard Drive – I called Q-see to see if I could upgrade the standard 250GB drive and they said yes. I popped open the box and swapped the SATA drive with a 500GB with no problem. Once the system booted, it formatted the drive and I was ready to go. The person from Q-see did tell me the max was 500GB so I am not sure about anything higher.
• Long 60 foot cables (I actually had to pick up 3 50 foot extensions which was easy and cheap.
• VGA, BNC, RCA USB, or web for viewing the video.
• Home alarm system hook up.
• Availability to upgrade to motion sensors.
• Night Vision camera.
• Color cameras

Now the bad:

• The web interface is horrible and most people wont use it. Their software is not signed by Microsoft so it wont install from the web interface unless you turn off your Active X security controls. Just take care of that Q-See!
• Did seem to freeze or at the remote was not responsive at one time

Honestly, it is a great price to deter theft and catch some punks doing pranks in the act. Other people might want to consult a professional but for the DIY person, this kit is perfect.

You can pick up yours at Costco.com

I hate messy cables everywhere when it comes to electronics or anything else that required cables to be strung about everywhere. There seems to be no solution because you take so much time and effort to put your cables in order only to have to do it over when adding more gadgets and devices.

One solution is the Signum cable management system from Ikea. The idea is to screw a shelf like device underneath your desk where you can weave your cables through. Considdering the price, this is the best cable management system I have used. I bought two because I have a large desk but all is holding up fine and my cables are out of the way.

If you are looking at a quick, easy, and cheap solution to managing your cables, Check out Ikea’s Signum cable management system. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50035115

I came across the web site wordtracker.com today and it had an article with a few tips from a book about Search Engine Optimization. Some of the quotes from the auther Peter Kent seem to agree with so much that I have been saying for so long. When talking about SEO companies Kent says, “Over the last few years as I speak to more clients and hear their stories, it has led me to believe that 80% of the business is scam.”

Some other things I read like using forums, blogs, and adding links all make me think this is a really good book to look at. If you want to optimize your web site

 on search engines like Google, you have to do the work yourself. Don’t waste your money with companies that just do stuff that is already offered for free. For the full story, check out wordtracker.com/acadamy/peter-kent If you want to purchase the book, you can buy it below from Amazon.com for usually much cheaper than Barnes and Noble or Borders.

 

Many people don’t realize how easy it is to block porn and other negative things from the Internet on your computer. A little service called Open DNS will do this not only for free but also with amazing functionality. I am not going to take the time to explain how to set it up because it is well documented on opendns.org but I would like people to know what you can do.

First, this system is a group system where thousands of people can vote or request certain web sites to be banned or put in a particular category. When you pay for a service that actively blocks all porn web sites, they are bound to miss a few but with a community, it makes it much harder. Porn, nudity, file sharing, movie downloading, instant messaging, and many more are all categories of sites you can automatically block by the click of a button. If you need to get to a certain web site in a category, you can enable that site instead of allowing that category of sites through or you can just block sites you want.

Second, you set it up in your router so it makes it pretty hard for your kids to figure it out. Don’t give them the password!

Third, you can look at stats and see where people try to go. This is a really nice function but you are unable to tell what computer did it. Also when you go to a site that is blocked, you get a web page that says the site is blocked and tells you why.

Finally, a really cool shortcut feature allows you to program web site shortcuts. For example, if you go to a web site with a really long URL frequently, you can make it be a name or even letter! Whatever you want. So if you go to areallylongurl.com you can make it so you type "a" in the address bar hit enter and it will take you to that site.

I really recommend Open DNS. Given the recent dns spoofing flaw, I decided to try it. I am really amazed. I would even pay for a service like this. Open DNS says they get their money by adds on searches or on the page that says you are being blocked from a restricted site. The adds are not annoying and I only notice them when testing bad web sites. Open DNS is used by many big businesses to keep their employees off of numerous types of web sites.

I decided to over-clock my new Q9450 Core 2 Quad processor from its native 2.6 GHZ to 3.0 GHZ and the result of running prime95 to check my temperature scared the pants off me. With the stock cooler my CPU went up to an average of 74 degrees Celsius using Speedfan, CoreTemp, and RealTemp. I understand that no program I use will cause my CPU to get to that temperature but I would rather keep it cooler so I purchased a Zalman UltraQuite CNPS9700 LED CPU cooler. The immediate result after running prime95 for 2 minutes  was around 65 degrees Celsius. Currently at idle speeds I am around 51 degrees Celsius. Although I would like to be much cooler, this is below the threshold of 70 degrees so I am happy.

Assuming I applied the thermal compound correctly, I guess this is as low as I am going to get without going to water cooling. I would love to do water cooling but out of the two systems I have owned, the both sprung a leak and one resulted in the total destruction of a motherboard.

A couple of cool things about this CPU cooler is it comes with a variable speed control switch and a blue led in the fan. Also included is thermal compound which comes with a "nail polish like" bottle with a brush applicator making it pretty hard to screw up applying the compound.

The temperatures I gave were an average of all 4 cores and for some reason, the first core was hotter by roughly 10 degrees than the rest always. I do have a case airflow issue and am upgrading the case to something with better circulation. If anyone has any ideas as to cooling my computer down more, please let have your suggestions. Also note, Zalman says it may take about 200 operating hours before best cooling is achieved.

Recently after two really cheap electric shavers broke, I decided to invest a little more money in a better quality system. The Braun 8585 self-cleaning electric shaver was my solution.

I must say, this is the best electric shaver I have ever owned. The unit comes with a harness that serves as the washing machine to clean your razor while it also charges it. Yes, of coarse it is cordless too! The cord comes is detachable and the shaver comes with a case so you can take it with you while you travel. When you travel, you leave the docking station home because you will definitely spill out the cleaning fluid. The shaver has something like 20 different angled groves to capture hair and an adjustable trimmer for sideburns.

If you are interested, as usual, I got mine at amazon.com