Business computers need annual checkup (4/27/01)

I'm in trouble. When Larry Mennitt, SWFPCUG treasurer, discovers how many of you responded to my offer of a complementary copy of the May computing journal, I will be up to my you-know-what in alligators!

However, I did appreciate all your compliments concerning Good Boot. It seems that the League of Beleaguered Novices in Southwest Florida has become a cottage industry. OK, down to business.

Dave Keller (CompuDoctor) and I were discussing the problems that small business and home-based mom-and-pop businesses face trying to "preserve and protect" themselves from the bag of "sinister, ominous, dire, dreadful, baleful, baneful, accursed, devilish and evil" tricks their computer can rain down on their parade. And why every business should periodically have a qualified technician provide, at the very least, an annual computer physical.

In fact, he suggested it would be an idea for a Good Boot article. And provided me with four significant preventive maintenance suggestions that should be considered. And Dave should know. He was the year 2000 The News Press Best of Computer Service in Southwest Florida.

At least once a year, individual users, small businesses and home-based businesses should have a qualified technician: Tune up their system for optimum performance. Check battery backup (every business user NEEDS a battery backup) and surge protection on phone line-to-modem connection.

Verify antivirus software is up to date, and check if system has any viruses. Review existing backup procedure to check for maximum effectiveness, or establish an efficient backup procedure if there isn't one already (CRITICAL for all business users).

It should be obvious why a business should use a qualified professional. But why a Beleaguered Novice?

Consider this: If you have a relatively new computer, it probably is far more powerful than the onboard computers on Apollo 11 when it went to the moon.

So I suggest that you "use your thinker, before you tinker" and have a professional tune the beast that sits on your desktop!

And may I leave you with this brilliant observation 'the thunder boomers are a comin'. Please ensure you have your computer AND your modem phone line connected to a quality surge protector.

By the way, surge protectors do not last forever. So, "Protect what you hold dear with a new surge protector each year." 

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

Seminars offer insight into Internet world  (5/4/01)

About a year and a half ago, I was approached by the Lee County Library System to provide Internet seminars at its three regional libraries. My initial reaction was that this would be another way our organization could assist the beleaguered novices of Southwest Florida in taming the beast that sits on their desktop. After 18 months and over 1,000 attendees, I realize hour naive I was.

That the Lee County Library System with its state-of-the-art computer equipment, free Internet and e-mail access, could provide everything one needed to become a citizen of cyberspace. Oh yes, many came out of curiosity, for pre-purchasing information or to discover how they could use the Internet as a research tool.

But many came because they could not afford the luxury of a computer and Internet access and wanted to discover what it was all about. Or they knew that, because they could not afford a computer, they needed to have enough information to encourage their children to use the library's computers and Internet access. In fact, as far as I am concerned, too many came for these reasons! For too many Lee residents, it is a matter of economics.

Be that as it may, Catherine Macke, the training coordinator for the library system, believes that the Internet seminar program has been a success and should be expanded - both in content and availability. This summer we will begin by expanding the seminars into all libraries that have meeting facilities. And beginning this fall, we will go to twice a month round robin seminars.

What will we cover? Of course, the Internet will be discussed. But success on the Internet is based on a general knowledge of how to use a computer. So the seminars will be open to any basic computer question. And greater emphases will be placed on the availability of the state-of-the-art computers and Internet access at all Lee libraries. The program can also show how to use computers as a research tool. It will also serve as a pre-purchase "what is it all about" test site.

The seminars will be for pre-beleaguered novices. I emphasize pre. Very basic, very informal and, I promise, absolutely non-intimidating. One need not even have a computer! So if you know of someone who needs a shove in the right direction, have them check with their local library for the seminar schedule. In fact, if the new East County Regional Library opens on time, I will be there May 15.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

You may be testing software and not know it  (5/18/01)

Recently I overheard a conversation between two Beleaguer Novices discussing how considerate AOL and Microsoft were in providing free updates (a k a fixes) to their programs. At the time I did not want to rain on their parade, so I said nothing.

But perhaps this is the time to mention that the free. updates and fixes provided by software companies are not a result of outreach programs motivated by any corporate desire to benefit humanity. It is instead a concerted effort to use you as a beta tester.

What is a beta tester?

In the days of yore, beta testers were experienced users who volunteered to test a new or upgraded software program - before it was released. They received prereleases of a program knowing full well that a beta version could create computer problems. But the fact that the beta tester was an experienced user usually meant that he or she could deal with any problem.

It was their responsibility to report problems they encountered. Their reward was a free copy of the final edition of the software program.

In fact, beta testing was a well-controlled method of ensuring the final product was as bug-free as it could be. Often, many beta versions preceded the final version.

However, these days competition among software companies is fierce, and R&D costs are astronomical. In my opinion, concern for the customer is at a nadir. It is more economical 'for software companies to release their product with a minimum of formal beta testing and rely on you to be their unwitting beta testers.

Why not seduce you into purchasing the latest version of their software, then wait for you to experience the bugs that formerly would have been found by experienced beta testers, then sanctimoniously offer you free Band-Aids?

Why mention this depressing phenomenon now?

Well, not just because of the AOL 6.0 fiasco, but also because of the many current and future releases of significant software programs, including Corel WordPerfect 2002, Microsoft Office XP and Windows XP, each to be heralded by their marketing department's upgrade siren song of seduction.

I would need a full News Press page to list the warnings that should be on their packages. So I will just say this: Be wary unless you are absolutely sure a system-altering and/or costly software program has anything significantly new to offer, that your computer is state-of-the-art enough to access its new features, and that you are capable of performing a successful installation.

Why not let your neighbors be the beta testers? Let them crash their systems and raise the standard of living of their technicians while you wait for a Good Boot advisory.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. .    [index]

Keeping software updated is easy, free   (5/25/01)

Last week, I discussed the trials and tribulations of upgrading programs without AI the advice of a qualified adviser. This week, I am going to tell you about a method of keeping your current software programs updated easily and at no cost.

Many software programs are released, in my opinion, prematurely. And by doing so, you become a beta tester, experiencing all the problems inherent in the release. The fixes are provided by a continuous procession of service releases, more often than not, via downloads from the software manufacturer's Web site.

Unfortunately, the novice user may not always be aware of this process, relying rather on expensive phone calls via mind-boggling technical support menus. Or, perhaps, just as expensive visits from their technician.

Even the "good guy" software companies that thoroughly beta-test their products before releasing them will, over a period of time, provide via their Web site product fixes and enhancements. But again: The problem is ...how does one keep abreast of fixes and enhancements.

And how do beleaguered novices know whether or not a fix or enhancement is appropriate for the software version on their computer.

We all know that Microsoft provides an excellent, free Windows Update option. But let me tell you about a program I use for everything else.

Go to www.cnet.com. In the lower, right-hand corner of the Web site is a "Update Your Software" button. Click on it. On the subsequent page, click on "Download Catchup."

The little program that will be downloaded to your hard drive is nothing more than a conduit for the Cnet Catchup program to "sniff' your computer.

It is benign and requires only that you remember the location where you downloaded it. You are provided with choices.

Remain connected to the Web and install the Catchup program. When it is installed, you will be taken back to Cnet's Web page. Now click on "Launch Catchup." A window will open allowing you to select or "unselect" the drives you would like Catchup to scan for programs. Now go ahead and start the scan.

When your hard drive has been scanned. You will be presented with a list of all the fixes and updates available for all the programs on your hard drive. They will be check-marked and have a brief explanation of what they are. You may uncheck any that you do not want.

Once you are satisfied with your selections, you are taken to a master download page. Each of your selections has a hyperlink to take you to individual download sites. Click on the Hyperlink (usually a blue, underlined word or two).

When you get to the site, download the fix or enhancement to your hard drive.

When you have completed all your desired downloads, go to your selected download site on your hard drive and install the downloads.

As always ... If you are unsure of whether you need a particular fix or enhancement, ask.  [index]

Phone line to modem needs surge protection  (6/1/01)

In a recent article, I mentioned the importance of surge protectors in general, a surge protector for the telephone line to one's modem in particular, and a battery backup for those whose computer creations are of significant value.

Like Dave Keller, chief meteorologist for the Southwest Florida PC User Group, who every year warns us of the hazards of the "thunder-boomer season," I too periodically warn computer users of the indiscretion of not protecting their computers from the ire of Zeus.

I expect (and receive) email from Doubting Good Booters who sarcastically comment that they have never heard of a phone being "fried." So why should they worry about their modem? But at least they read my articles and are willing to chance a "boom-boom, bye-bye." But to discover a fellow NewsPress columnist (and a professional, at that) who does not read Good Boot. Oh my!

Last week I dropped by The News-Press to receive my periodic "Prince of Print Critique" by the rascals who produce the Business Section. Anne Mitchell, one of my favorite columnists, and, Vickie, my cat's favorite visitor, asked me if I knew where she could find a deal on a new modem.

When I casually asked Anne why, her response stunned me. No it was not because she uses a computer named after a "fruit." It was because her modem had been "fried," and be still my heart, she admitted that she had not protected her modem telephone line with a surge protector.

Here, after all these years of my reading her Artful Shopper articles on the likes of Lip Ink and Wonder Bras, Anne admitted she had never read my Good Boot articles on surge protectors. So I dedicate this article to Anne.

Ninety-five plus percent of all "fried" computers this season will be because a user does not have a surge protector that protects their telephone line from power surges.

What kind of a surge protector should you have? Well, Keller, a k a Compu-Doctor, one of our User Group consulting technicians, recommends keeping it simple. Spend no less than $40, and if it comes with an insurance policy, so much the better.

Note: I know of users who have collected on these insurance policies. They require only that you send them the surge protector along with your fried modem or your computer if it has been damaged You will receive full reimbursement. This can be in addition to your homeowner's policy.

By the way, Dwayne Alton, another of our consulting technicians, suggests that if your surge protector is not capable of warning you that it has been "surged out," one should consider replacing surge protectors for all one's valuable electrical appliances once a year. Be safe rather than parsimonious.

And, if your computer creations are of significant value, a battery backup is a must. Not only for electrical surges, but also for those pesky, year round brown-outs.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

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