Tech Tips

iPhone 4 is finally out, as most people have probably heard.  It features what is called a "retina display" - a 960 by 640 resolution that is twice that of the iPhone 3GS and greatly surpasses any other phone on the market.  It has a faster processor which also consumes less power, meaning the battery life is far greater than its predecessors - something that has been a major criticism of the iPhone to date.  The camera supports 720p video recording with 5 megapixel still pictures.  Video calling is another feature receiving a lot of interest.  The phone is already available (though might be difficult to find) and comes in 16 GB or 32GB models priced respectively at $199 and $299 with a two year service contract.

Click here for more info on the new iPhone 4.

This piece of software has been a personal favorite for quite some time.  VLC media player can play just about any video or audio format imaginable.  The newest version comes with video hardware acceleration for smoother video playback and less processor resources.  One great reason this media player is so popular, is the fact that it uses very little system resources compared to pretty much any other media player.

Click here to visit VLC's website and try it yourself.

1. Beware of Pop-ups & E-mail Scams!!!
We CONSTANTLY get calls about pop-ups advising that you have a virus & e-mail scams with links to warnings allegedly from system administrators, shipping companies, banks, credt card companies and more.  People stll as about clicking on links, sometimes they already have; and now need a virus removed from their system.  The rule of thumb is DON'T DO IT!!!  Even if you know who sent it, e-mail links are are trouble waiting to happen.  Read & re-read the content to see if you can sense anything that doesn't ring true.  If you have even a shred of doubt, e-mail the person who sent it and ask if they meant to send it or where the link is intended to take you.  Many times, the sender is unaware they sent you anything because they're already infected.  If you have an e-mail of which you are unsure, you can go to millersmiles.co.uk, a website that reports and archives e-mail scams and search for an e-mail that looks similar to yours.   As for pop-ups when browsing, NEVER click anywhere inside the pop-up window - even to say "no thanks" or "cancel" as that will simply execute the malicious code anyway.  Use ALT/F4 to close the open window.  Keep hitting it until the window goes away.  If it doesn't, just shut your computer down immediately. The pop-ups are caused by exploitive code designed to target people whose computers do not have ALL the latest updates.   You need to constantly make sure you have ALL the latest Microsoft updates or it is only a matter of time before you become victim to one of these attacks!

2. Office 2010 Now Web Based
As promised, some of the applications featured in Microsoft Office 2010 are now available online - for free!  Featured applications are Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and OneNote.  All of the programs look to have most of the features offered by their offline brethren.  All you need to access Office Online is a free Windows Live account.  Office applications are available once you login to your Windows Live account.

3. 10 Things You Didn't Know Google Maps Could Do
Google Maps continues to evolve into a more useful tool.  What started out as Google Earth and a tool for getting directions, has evolved into a full-featured GPS on some Android phones, and so much more.  Some of the new features include creating multi-day walking itineraries, mapping out bike routes, show photos taken nearby locations, provide directions via text messages, the ability to plot spreadsheet addresses on a map, and a few other interesting features.

Click here to read a detailed article.

Google Voice Now Open to Everyone in the U.S.
Google recently announced that its free Google Voice service is now open to everyone in the U.S. The online voicemail and telecommunications service already counts around 1 million people among its regular users (including us!), but until today, it was available through invitation only, as Google wanted to hold off launching the service more widely until it was sure it had enough infrastructure in place to support a larger user base. 

Google Voice gives users one number that can ring on all their phones -- mobile, home and office for example -- depending on the rules they set. It includes a bunch of useful and free features, such as transcribed voicemail sent as an e-mail or text message, conference calling, outbound domestic calls, and call-screening. International calls are also supported, for a fee, but they cost a fraction of what phone companies typically charge per minute. Alternatively, if you don't want a new phone number to deal with, Google Voice can be used with your existing line -- albeit with limited functionality.  

Native apps for Android and Blackberry phones are available, while Palm Pre and iPhone users can use the web-based app to use most of its features.

Click here to check out a brief explanation of the service in this Google-produced video.

Click here to visit the Google Voice website and get started.