Resolving to get in touch with your inner geek will save energy, money, time and, potentially, a tremendous amount of heartache.
Take it from Eric Garcia, a technician at Geek Street Computers, a repair shop on South Broadway in Denver that fixes thousands of machines each year. He remedies the sundry tech heebie-jeebies that can wipe out a hard drive – or a bank account – in an instant.
Garcia knows how the majority of his customers invited a tech meltdown – or just gummed up their computers enough to slow them to a crawl. He sees the same stupid moves over and over and over – but he doesn’t lecture, and he doesn’t preach. He advises only when asked.
“I wish more people would ask,” he says. “A few more questions could solve a lot of problems.”
A few more questions also would help more people see that the tech troubles they create prevent them from reaping real and lasting benefits. Technology is good for much more than sending e-mail, editing documents and playing video games.
Only the clueless don’t grasp the big picture – and no one should want to hang with that crowd. Resolve to leave them behind in ’06. Here’s how:
1. Learn how your computer works. There’s no need to root around your machine’s directory or to take a course in systems architecture to develop a command of your gadgets and gizmos. But a little reading (what a concept!) doesn’t hurt. People who understand the basics of how computers send and receive information are less likely to do dumb stuff that wrecks their machines – and, potentially, crashes the company’s e-mail server.
Several excellent – and free – technology primers are posted online. Two worth a long look: Webopedia (pcwebopedia.com), which spits out definitions for even the most cutting-edge tech jargon in plain English and with lightning speed, and the “Central Intelligence” section of GeekSquad.com, a company that provides tech support at home, in the office and in various retail outlets.
2. Speaking of dumb stuff: Stop doing it. Garcia is in business – big business – because his customers visit websites featuring adult content and tips on how to cheat at video games.
They use file-sharing networks to download free music – giving outsiders access to their personal information in the process. They open e-mail from strangers and provide personal information – such as Social Security numbers – on bogus Websites.
They refuse to load their computers with firewalls that would block illicit access to and from their machines. They don’t see the importance of using software to combat viruses or remove spyware. They set up a wireless network but don’t bother to protect it from prying eyes and ears.
3. Get serious about security. “People get a computer, but they don’t seem to understand that it needs to be updated and maintained,” Garcia says. Indeed, a computer’s operating system – such as Microsoft’s Windows, the world’s most widely used – has holes that hackers around the world work around the clock to exploit.
For example, miscreants rang in the new year by using a flaw in Windows to install an array of digital nemeses on personal computers everywhere. Recently, security experts urged Windows users worldwide to download a patch not endorsed by Microsoft because the company hadn’t issued its own solution yet. Garcia says computer users should regularly update their operating system and software that detects viruses and spyware. He also recommends anti-virus software produced by feisty companies such as Millburn, N.J.-based Grisoft Inc., because, Garcia says, “we see a lot of things get by the bigger names” in the anti-virus software market. Garcia – as well as the editors of PC Magazine – recommend Boulder-based WebRoot Software Inc.’s SpySweeper to remove spyware.
4. Go wireless. Do this only if you have accomplished resolutions 1 through 3. The joys of receiving and transmitting information anytime and anywhere you’re within range of a wireless network are too numerous to mention.
Installing a wireless network at home has allowed me to look up recipes from the kitchen and get driving directions while still parked in the garage.
To get out of the house – and the newsroom – I often write in a nearby bagel shop that offers free wireless Internet access. To learn more about wireless technology, visit wi-fi.org, the cyber home of the Wi-Fi Alliance, a global, nonprofit trade group that promotes the industry’s growth.
5. Back up important information. Your software and precious digital photos, songs and documents should be stored on compact discs and DVDs. It’s also important to note that VHS tapes have a shelf life of about 10 years – so consider moving those cherished home movies to a disc soon. Walgreen’s offers tape-to-disc conversion services. Also consider moving your digital photographs onto old-fashioned paper. For between $50 and $100, a new shop in Lone Tree, Life’s Sweet, will organize up to 135 photos in hardbound books or DVDs.
And just because your computer can store thousands of files doesn’t mean it should. The more you save, the more you can slow your machine’s performance. Trash what you don’t need – or move it to a backup disc.
6. Limit your children’s computer use. If responsible parents wouldn’t dream of letting their kids introduce themselves to strangers at the neighborhood bar, why would they fail to monitor their little ones’ trips through cyberspace, where pornography and predators abound? Internet services, such as AmericaOnline and MSN, feature parental controls that block children from visiting certain websites or accepting correspondence from strangers.
Software also can help parents keep track of a child’s computer use – as can household rules that allow kids to use computers only where everyone else can see them.
7. Use technology to save money on your, um, technology. Few websites beat MyRatePlan.com for comparison shopping. The site quickly cuts through confusing sales pitches by providing a side-by-side look at various deals on wireless and land-line phone services, Internet access, satellite television and radio – and more.
8. Get good tech support. Numerous companies, such as Geek Squad, make house calls. I’m also a fan of reputable services that use screen-sharing technology to allow customers to watch as a remote technician commandeers their machine to make fixes. Yes, it’s nerve-wracking to see someone in a faraway office rifle through your computer with ease – but they’re actually helping you. (And hey, people with evil intentions are doing the same thing if you’re not bothering to install anti-virus and anti-spyware software). One screen-sharing tech support service to consider is PlumChoice, which gives up to a half-hour of help for $25 a month.
9. Look for the Energy Star label. This program supported by the Environmental Protection Agency and much of the construction industry – as well as by makers of computers, major appliances and office equipment – aims to help homeowners and businesses protect the environment through energy efficiency. Another bonus? Cheaper utility bills. According to the Energy Star website (energystar.gov), Americans using Energy Star products in 2004 saved enough energy to power 24 million homes – and saved $10 billion in the process. Builders such as McStain Neighborhoods in Louisville construct only homes worthy of Energy Star certification.
The company already has committed to meeting the program’s stricter 2006 requirements, says Jeff Medanich, McStain’s building scientist and special projects manager. Medanich, who lives in a house built in 1910, recommends that owners of older homes hire contractors specializing in energy consumption to determine where energy is being lost.
He also recommends that homeowners make small and relatively inexpensive changes that can shave money off monthly bills. For example, if every American homeowner replaced the incandescent bulbs in their home’s five most frequently used light fixtures with Energy Star bulbs, each household would save $60 a year and keep more than 1 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air – the equivalent of emissions from 8 million cars.
10. Challenge yourself to learn one new thing that will help you manage your household better. The sky’s the limit here. After my first little one was born last year, I focused on video-conferencing and voice-over-Internet technologies. I wanted to show off the new baby to grandparents in California and North Carolina during video chats – and to shave long-distance charges by using the computer to call my in-laws and parents with questions early and often. This year, I’m bent on cutting down grocery bills by learning to make the most of meal-planning spreadsheets and digital shopping lists that help me keep track of what’s in the pantry.
