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Aug
20

Tag, You’re It!

by admin

While I get most of my news from the Internet, I do subscribe to various print periodicals, one of which being Entertainment Weekly.  I was intrigued to see that they are employing a new level of interactivity in their magazines for readers with Smartphones.  By using barcodes that can be “scanned” in various advertisements and articles, the reader can view content on their Smartphone’s mobile browser, linking them to websites, movie trailers, blogs, and more.

Microsoft Tag is the technology being utilized to give readers with Smartphones the ability to “scan” a barcode (taking a picture with the Smartphone’s camera) delivering interactive content to the phone.  The app is available for most Smartphones; I used an iPhone running iOS 4 to experiment with the technology.

Installation is simple enough.  For any Smartphone, point your mobile browser to http://gettag.mobi and the website will detect your model of Smartphone and get the right version of the app downloaded immediately.  For the iPhone, you can just search for “Tag Reader” in the Apple App Store to find it.  Once installed, the app walks you through some simple instructions and you’re ready to scan.

Microsoft Tag - Bayou Technologies Contact PageThe technology utilizes a High Capacity Color Barcode, or HCCB, which utilizes a new type of barcode that employs four colors in a five by ten grid.  To best utilize the Smartphone camera as the input device, the barcodes can vary in size, so that a tag on a real estate sign could be much larger to accommodate a user driving by, or smaller for publication in magazines or flyers that can be held in one’s hand.  The tags are essentially website links, so that the different barcodes direct the Smartphone’s mobile web browser to predetermined links, much like the technology that is employed in the many link-shortening utilities available, like bit.ly, tinyURL, and others.  In using the Tag technology, the businesses utilizing them can track the traffic driven to the website by that tag, which can be very useful when determining the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

What’s great about Microsoft Tag is that anyone can use it for free.  Users can scan a tag on their Smartphone and normal data usage rates apply.  You can create and distribute tags for your personal or business content at no charge, you just need a Windows Live ID and you can sign up on the website.  There are some guidelines for implementing the tags for different types of media, so I would advise reading the documentation first.  To introduce you to this new interactive technology, I’ve included a tag here that will direct you to my business website contact page, just install the app, scan it, and see for yourself!

In the “old days”, linking print media to interactive content online required someone to remember a company’s name, website, or other information, and then searching for it on your computer when you remembered.  With the new Microsoft Tag technology, you can drive your potential customers to your content online instantly, something that most users can relate to in our short attention span society.  If you would like to know more about Microsoft’s Tag technology and how it can benefit you, feel free to shoot me an email at vic@bayoutechnologies.com, or just scan my tag, it will send you to my website!

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Jul
20

Smartphone Woes

by admin

Smartphones are great and once you have one, you probably can’t live without it, but there are drawbacks to being a smartphone user.  While a new phone customer can purchase one for much cheaper as they sign away their life for two years to the cellular provider, existing customers can also see a discount when they “upgrade”, which gets you for another two years.  The phone providers can afford to sell these smartphones at a lesser rate, knowing they have your money safe in their pockets for the next few years.

One feature that has taken the industry by storm is the “touchscreen”, allowing a user to interface with the phone by pressing the display itself.  This in itself is great technology, but it does have a few drawbacks.  The touchscreen will consume your battery very quickly; a case in point is the Apple iPhone; it’s a terrific device that features a touchscreen, allowing the user to navigate one of the most user-friendly interfaces ever seen on any device.  The large touchscreen requires the phone to be charged daily, if you use it like most people.  Any smartphone user that uses a touchscreen phone will probably have similar issues with battery life.

Another drawback of having a touchscreen is physical damage, and having a big glass screen practically paints a target on your phone for breakage.  Touchscreens can break rather easily, as a simple slip from your hand can land your phone on multitude of hard surfaces, all of which can crack that digitizer (the glass on top of the screen), the LCD (the part underneath that displays the images), or even both.  Not only that, any kind of harsh treatment can jostle the internal components of these devices, and if you’ve ever opened on up, it’s a lot of technology in a very tight space.

When you break your smartphone, you have a few options.  You can get another one from your cellphone provider, which will come as a shock when you see what the price is if you aren’t eligible for an upgrade.  For example, the iPhone 3Gs with 16GB of storage is available for $99 with a new contract or upgrade.  Without, you will be paying more than $500 for a new one.  That’s where you can really see how much that two-year contact is worth to them.  If you have a warranty, it typically doesn’t cover physical damage like broken screens or water-damage, so sending it off to Apple will cost you less than $500, but it usually costs more than $200.  Not only that, you’ll be without a phone for as long as it takes them to fix it.

More recently, local repair shops have started to emerge, but be cautioned.  There is no certification for iPhone repair, and no standardized certification for any smartphone repair. So any repair shop that advertises themselves as “Certified Technicians” might be certified in some other technology, but it certainly isn’t iPhone repair.  Also beware prices for repair that seems too good to be true; they could be using cheap parts or don’t warranty their work.  Repair from a local shop is usually the best route to take for savings and convenience, but be sure to use a reputable one.

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Jun
23

iOS 4: A welcome upgrade for the iPhone

by admin

As you might have heard, Apple is releasing a new iPhone on June 29th (a slight delay from the original release date of June 24th) and it will be a revolutionary device with all the new features it brings to the table.  While there does exist quite a bit of new technology in this new device, like a front-facing camera for video chat, a 5 mega-pixel camera, noise suppression, and a slick new case that is even thinner than the iPhone 3Gs, the real groundbreaking performance is due to the new operating system (iOS 4).  The great thing about iOS 4 is that you don’t need to have a new iPhone 4 to take advantage of some of these new and exciting features is brings.  If you have an iPhone 3Gs or 3G, or a second or third generation iPod Touch, you can upgrade to this new operating system as of Monday, June 21st.  Perhaps the most discussed new feature, multi-tasking, will not be available on the iPhone 3G and the second generation iPod Touch, but there do exist some great new features that all of the above mentioned devices can utilize.

My favorite new feature is “folders”, where you can group apps by whatever classification you deem, simply by dragging one app on top of another.  This groups the apps and gives you the opportunity to name the folder whatever you please, although it’ll name it automatically based on what type of apps are in there.  Each folder can store up to 12 apps, and the red badges (like when you have unread email messages) will show on the folder for an app contained therein.  One thing I noticed is that you might forget where you put an app, but thanks to the handy Spotlight search, finding them isn’t an issue.  I’m sure once you get acclimated to using the folder feature, you’ll remember in which folder you stashed that app.

My second favorite new feature is the unified Mail inbox, which is something that was sorely missed in the previous versions of the iPhone operating system.  If you have multiple email addresses that you use your phone to check, you can now see them all in one screen, which in my opinion, is absolutely necessary.  Before, having to switch back and forth between your mail folders was pretty inefficient, but if you liked that degree of separation between your mail folders, not to worry, it’s still in there.  Mail also now incorporates threads, so any emails relating to a discussion are now linked to the initial email; you can see the number of linked messages in a little grey box on the right.  Also, multiple Exchange accounts are now supported, so now business users can gripe a little less about the iPhone.

In the iPod app, you can now create new playlists on your device itself, which is pretty nice for folks that don’t connect their device to the computer that often.  You can edit the playlist fairly easily, adding, deleting, and reordering items on the fly.   The camera app now features a 5 digital zoom, which isn’t going to improve the quality of the pictures you take, but it’s a nice addition, nonetheless.  Another cool addition to the camera is “Places”, which can geotag your pictures with the location where you took them; you can then see where you have been taking pictures on a map.

There are a ton of other new features that the iPhone 4 and iOS 4 include, which would warrant a follow-up review once I get my hands on the new toy.  In the meantime, I highly encourage you to download this free upgrade to your iPhone to start playing with all the new features.

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Jun
18

Opening Pandora's Box of Music

by admin

The radio stopped being a viable solution for quality music quite some time ago.  Hearing the same 20 songs pumped over the airwaves every couple of hours can be pretty tiring, and the old solution was to fall back to your own collection of CDs, vinyl, or whatever media was your choice when you accumulated your collection.  With the fall of the record store thanks to online purchasing and the advent of the MP3, finding new music without spending a lot of time researching can be pretty difficult.  Thanks to the Internet, there exists a new medium that can be really useful:  Internet Radio.

There exist quite a number of services that provide music; all you need is an Internet connection.  One of the most popular is Pandora Radio (http://www.pandora.com), a service that personalizes your music based on your tastes that utilizes the “Music Genome Project”.  What is the Music Genome Project, you ask?  The ongoing project seeks to “capture the unique and magical identity of a song – everything from melody, harmony, and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony.”  While the Pandora explanation of the Music Genome Project is nice, here’s how Pandora puts it all together:  you pick a song that you like and Pandora plays similar songs for you.  It’s a playlist creation utility, creating mix tapes of stuff you’ll probably like.  For people looking for new music, it’s indispensible.  I’ve discovered artists I never knew before and found songs from artists I knew but to whom I never gave a second chance.   To help Pandora with styling your personal music tastes for future playlists, you can give songs a “Thumbs Up” or a “Thumbs Down”, which will change the music Pandora selects for your listening.  You can also listen to the selection of premade genre stations or check out what your friends are listening to as well.

Pandora can be used as a free service; all you need to do is register.  Free comes with limitations, however, in the form of advertisements and a cap at 40 hours of free music a month.  If you run out of listening time, you’ll get another 40 hours on the 1st of the next month, or you can select one of two options.  Option one is to pay 99 cents for unlimited listening for the rest of that calendar month, which is quite a deal if you run out of time in the first week of the month.  Option two is to upgrade to Pandora One for $36, which is a year’s subscription.  Pandora One gives you unlimited listening, no advertising, higher quality audio streams, and unlimited skipping.  You might ask, “what is unlimited skipping?”  With the free service, you can only skip 6 songs per hour, per station, but this is limited to 12 total skips per day across all the stations, due to the terms of the music licenses Pandora utilizes.  To skip a song, you can give the song a “thumbs down”, use the “skip” button, or choose “I’m tired of this song”.  To conserve your skips, try not to give your “thumbs down” until after the song has finished playing.

Pandora isn’t the only player in the Internet Radio marketplace, but it is the most prevalent.  Pandora is available on mobile devices like the iPod, iPad, Android, Palm, and Blackberry.  A number of home music appliances are popping up, including the Pandora service out of the box, like Blu-Ray players, tabletop radios, digital media players, and home theater systems.  With so many different ways to listen, I’m sure that you’ll find Pandora to be a great alternative for listening to the music you want to hear.

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Jun
01

Shortcuts 102 – Your Keyboard is Your Friend

by admin

In my last column, I started to acclimate the unfamiliar to the wonderful world of keyboard shortcuts.  I use my keyboard as much as possible, as it maximizes my efficiency while I work on my computer, which is for multiple hours a day.  For this column, we’re going to focus on some of the new keyboard shortcuts available on Windows 7 along with some other ones you might find very useful.

Windows 7 has incorporated some great new features, which I touched on in a previous column (http://wordpress.bayoutechnologies.com/2009/11/01/windows-7-versions-and-features-is-it-right-for-you/), and some of the best, in my opinion, utilize the keyboard.  For example, one neat new feature gives you the ability to have two windows split evenly on the screen.  To do this with the keyboard, press the “Windows” key (located between “Ctrl” and “Alt” on the left-hand side of the keyboard) along with the right or left arrow key.  You can then use “Windows” + the other arrow key to have your other windows sized right next to it.  While you’re playing with window positioning, try using the up or down arrow keys along with the “Windows” key, which will maximize and minimize your window, respectively. If you’re using dual monitors, use “Shift” + “Windows” + “Right/Left Arrow” to move the window to the next monitor.  “Windows” + “Space” will render all windows transparent so you can see your desktop, but if you want to clear them all off without having to minimize each and every one, use “Windows” + “D”.  For easy access to Windows Explorer, that handy utility that gives you access to all your files in the nice tree-style structure, use “Windows” + “E”.  Those last two shortcuts work in previous versions of Windows too!  While we’re messing around in Windows Explorer, there are some neat shortcuts we can use there too.  For a new folder in Windows Explorer, use “Ctrl” + “Shift” + “N”, creating the new folder with the name ready to be entered.  If you need to go up a folder level, use “Alt” + “Up Arrow”.  The preview pane, a handy way to get a better view on the selected file, can quickly be toggled on and off using “Alt” + “P”.

The new taskbar in Windows 7 gives you some great ways on managing your programs, and of course, the taskbar has some neat shortcuts that help you to quickly and easily perform these functions.  Using the “Windows” along with any number key “1″ through “9″, will start the application that is pinned in the taskbar at that position, from left to right.  Throw in a “Shift” along with that shortcut, and you can create a new instance of that program.  If you have several windows open for a program, like say multiple instances of Firefox, you can cycle through them using “Ctrl” + “Windows” + the number key.  Use “Alt” + “Windows” + the number key to open the “Jump List” for the application pinned in that location.  “Windows” + “T” scrolls through the open items on the taskbar.

There’s one last shortcut that I want to mention, and it’s an important one:  “Ctrl” + “Alt” + “Delete”.  In Windows, this will bring up a few different options which can be very helpful in negotiating the Windows terrain.  You can lock your computer, so that stepping away from your desk will keep your work and desktop safely away from prying hands.  You can bring up the Task Manager, where you can shut down non-functioning programs, a common Windows occurrence.  You can also switch users, log off, or even shut down your machine.

The keyboard has been a vital component of the computer for a long time, much longer than the mouse.  Yet over time, the mouse has made the computer “easier” to use, and for that I am grateful; without the mouse, so many of the things we do on the computer daily wouldn’t be possible.  However, with a little knowledge and practice, you can use the two together to make your computing experience faster and easier.  Next time you need to print a file, take the shortcut – you won’t regret it.

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May
04

Shortcuts 101 – Get Around With Your Keyboard

by admin

Being a computer user for many years, I’ve been using a keyboard since before mice became a necessary computer accessory.  As PCs (and Macs) have become a integral part of nearly every household, the reliance on using a mouse to get around your computer and get things done is almost a given.  My only issue with this is when it comes to using your computer a lot, every second counts.  As such, I find the keyboard to be a great tool for things other than typing emails, website URLs, and documents.  With keyboard shortcuts, you can get a lot done on your computer with minimal mouse interaction.

For any multi-key shortcut, you’ll use these like you would the “Shift” key when typing capital letters.  For example, “Ctrl” + “P” means you hold down the “Ctrl” key on your keyboard while pressing the “P” key as well.  By the way, in almost any program, that’ll bring up your “print” dialog, where you can fire off your document to your printer.  Like the aforementioned shortcut, some of the more famous keyboard shortcuts work across all programs.  While my making mention of these might be simplistic for some readers, I still encounter people every day that aren’t aware of these simple yet effective gems.  For example, when you work hard at typing a document, being able to quickly cut, copy, and paste sections of text is essential.  After highlighting your text (with your mouse, of course), use the “Ctrl” key along with these keys for the desired effect:  “Ctrl” + “C” will copy the selected text;” Ctrl” + “X” cuts the selected text, and “Ctrl” + “V” will paste your copied or cut selected text into the new location, dictated by where your cursor is placed.  Using cut and paste can also help greatly when trying to retype long website addresses from another document that isn’t a hyperlink already.  Another important one is “Ctrl” + “Z”, which allows you to undo the last action your performed.  Some programs support multiple undos, so you can use that shortcut repeatedly to undo many things.  If you go too far back, use “Ctrl” + “Y” for step forward.  A few others to mention when working in a word processor are “Ctrl” + “B” for bold text, “Ctrl” + “I” for italics, and “Ctrl” + “U” to underline whatever text you have selected.

What if I’ve just copied some text from a website and I want to paste it into a document I’m working on?  Usually, you’d use your mouse to click on the program down in your taskbar, but did you know you can switch between your open programs easily by using “Alt” + “Tab”?  “Alt” + “F4” will close your program, though you may get prompted to save your work.  Instead of clicking “Yes” or “Save”, use the “Enter” key to select it.  What if you don’t want to save and would rather “Cancel”?  You can cycle through those choices you usually have to click by using the “Tab” key, or go backwards using “Shift” + “Tab”.  Those same keystrokes work great when filling out a form online to move from one field to the next.  Need to open another program?  “Ctrl” + “Esc” will open the Windows Start menu, and you can use your arrow keys to select a program from the list.

There are a lot more of these shortcuts to discuss, especially with the release of Windows 7, which has added some really cool ones.  What if you have a Mac?  Almost all of these shortcuts will work if you substitute your “Command” key for the “Ctrl” key on your Mac keyboard.  Give these a try and if you like the convenience of using your keyboard, join me next issue for “Shortcuts 102”, my follow-up class in using your keyboard to get around on your computer.

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Apr
12

Hands-On With The Apple iPad – Part 2

by admin

In this article, I’ll continue with my hands-on review of the Apple iPad, their newest device that will revolutionize the marketplace.  While it certainly has some exciting aspects and features, is it a “must-have” device?

Like the iPhone, the iPad is only as powerful as the apps it supports.  With the iPad providing so much more screen real estate, they have really been able to create some marvelous apps that capitalize on the larger size.  For reading e-books or magazines, the iPad rocks.  The new iBooks app brings electronic books to the Apple store and for decent prices, you can pick from a wide selection.  Reading them is intuitive, as pages turn with the stroke of a finger and bookmarks can be easily created with a double-tap of your finger.  Online newspapers from USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, and the Associated Press each feature their own signature design, but are enjoyable to read in this format, with interactive videos seamlessly coordinating with the articles.  Video apps, like Netflix and ABC Video, allow you to view movies and TV shows easily and they take full advantage of the rotating perspective of the large screen.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention something about the games, for which there seem to be more than any other type of app in the app store.  I tried a couple of the free offerings, but honestly, I can’t say much about them.  I seldom use devices like my iPhone or computer for games, but I’m sure that folks who do like gaming on their iPhone will appreciate the larger screen.  Future apps that might add potential for the iPad will include the educational and sales marketplace, as the cost and need for printed products could diminish with the iPad being a realistic replacement for textbooks or brochures.

Naysayers to the iPad will bring up issues like the lack of multitasking, but I have faith that an upcoming update to the OS will address that.  Lack of Flash support will most likely not ever be addressed, as Steve Jobs remains adamant in his thinking that it is an outdated and dying platform.  Depending on how many folks become iPad adopters, he may be right; Apple is known for changing the rules on the technological playing field, but it will remain to be seen.  I think the iPad is a nice tool for anyone who wants an easy-to-use tool for email, Internet access, reading electronic documents, or playing simple games.  If you don’t have an iPhone, the iPad is a nice complement or replacement for your computer.   If you are a heavy computer user, this is no substitute.  If you do own an iPhone, the iPad is a bit redundant.  If you do want to become an iPad user, waiting for the 3G version to be released next month might be more prudent, since there isn’t a contract requirement from AT&T on this device.  There will be two monthly plans available: 250 Megabytes for $15.00, or unlimited downloads for $29.99.  For light users, the former may work better, but I would wager that most would opt for the unlimited option.  The wireless network version available now (which I evaluated for this article) is nice for having around the house, but once the full functionality and convenience of using it anywhere is realized, I might consider it to be a device definitely worth buying.All in all, I was impressed with the Apple iPad.  It definitely has a “wow factor” for people that haven’t seen one yet, much as the iPhone did upon its initial release. Whether it will create a flood of demand for the device based on it’s technical merits alone will remain to be seen.  As with any new technology, it might be wise to wait until a second version is released as they “iron-out” any wrinkles that might be present, but I think that with the experience that Apple brings to every product, they’ve got a winner on their hands.

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Apr
12

Hands-On With The Apple iPad – Part 1

by admin

With all the hoopla surrounding the release of the Apple iPad, I wanted to reserve judgment on this latest “game-changing” device until I had a chance to try it myself.  Is this a product you cannot live without?  Will this be the death toll for e-book readers like the Kindle and the Nook?  Are Tablet PCs going to die a quick death?  Let’s take a closer look as we peel away the mystery and dive right into my review of this device.

On the exterior, Apple has again designed and marketed a new device magnificently.  The iPad comes in a simple box containing the sleek device, a power adapter and very little documentation.  The power adapter utilizes the standard Apple USB synching cable that also connects the iPod and iPhone to your computer.  The device itself is half an inch thick and is a little smaller than a sheet of paper, with a 9.7-inch glass screen.  It resembles an iPhone that has undergone a growth spurt.  As with the iPhone, it features a home button in the bottom center that takes you to your main menu, where your apps are all displayed.  New to this familiar interface is a dock at the bottom where you can house four of your apps for quick access.  Otherwise, it operates just like an iPhone, which brings about my first criticism of the iPad:  if you have an iPhone and a computer, you probably don’t need this device.  While it is a cool little gadget, iPhone users won’t find a lot of ground-shaking new features.

Like the iPhone, the device feels like it needs some additional protection, so I picked up a screen protector and rubber case from Accessory World on McNeese Street, seemingly the only store in town that is carrying accessories for the iPad.  iPhones are susceptible to their screens breaking, and I would guess that this device with it’s bigger screen will be more prone to damage.  Luckily, Accessory World also fixes iPhones and now iPads, so we have a local source for repair services on these pricey handheld devices.

Using a device like the iPad is a bit different than using a laptop or an iPhone, in that the size makes it a little unwieldy.  The iPad seems to be a bit too big for one hand to hold safely and comfortably.  This leaves you with holding it in your lap or resting it on a surface, but then you’re looking straight down at it.  Laptops win here, as they provide a more comfortable viewing angle while at the table or in your lap.  Tablet PCs might have the same problem, but almost all convert into a laptop for a similar viewing scenario.  iPhones are easier to hold comfortably in one hand, although for typing, the iPad is superior to the iPhone, a direct correlation to the larger screen size.  In fact, I’m composing this article on my iPad now, which allows me to type with two hands almost as efficiently as a regular laptop keyboard…  almost.  I found it easy to have an errant finger stroke place the cursor elsewhere in the document, creating a bit of consternation, especially with no handy “undo” feature that all computers have.  There does exist a peripheral for the iPad that provides a full keyboard with a docking port that stages the iPad at a more comfortable viewing angle, but that’s not exactly portable.  The device does feature Bluetooth support, and should work with the Apple wireless keyboard, but again, that decreases the portability factor.  Combined with the fact that there are no USB ports for external devices, score another point for a laptop when it comes to typing.

It seems that I’ve barely scratched the surface on my first impressions, so check back next issue for the second part of my hands-on review of the Apple iPad.

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Mar
29

Free Mail? Gmail!

by admin

Almost everyone has an email address these days.  Email has vastly changed the face of communications, but one problem I’ve encountered over time is when you have to change your email address.  There are a few providers that can be used for free email, and the big hitters include Yahoo! (http://mail.yahoo.com), Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com), and Google (http://www.gmail.com).  Today, I want to focus on Gmail, which offers a whole lot more than just free email.

Google first started offering the Gmail service in 2004 as one of the many segments of their conquest of the online world.  What separates Gmail from the rest of the pack is the flexibility it provides to its users.  For example, you can use Gmail to be the central hub for all your other POP3 email and webmail accounts.  You can easily import your contacts and email from Hotmail, Yahoo!, and AOL.  For example, say you have a Yahoo! email account, a Hotmail email account, and a Suddenlink email account.  You can have Gmail get the emails from all three and have them displayed in one place.  You can reply through those same email accounts in Gmail, but having a central repository for all my email is a convenient feature.  If you want to use an email client like Outlook, Mac Mail, Thunderbird, or even your phone, Gmail supports IMAP, so you can control your Gmail through your favorite program.

Worried about space?  Gmail gives you about 7GB of storage for all your email, which is quite a lot.  You can create filters, which is very similar to the rules in Microsoft Outlook to automatically sort your mail into folders, autoreply to certain senders, forward some or all mail to another email address, and the list goes on.  Another nice feature is being able to apply colored labels through filters to easy identify emails from specific people, subjects, and more.  You can also use the built-in vacation responder to auto-reply to any emails that come in while you’re away, a feature that Exchange users have enjoyed for a while.  Another thing I can’t live without is the ability to select and send multiple attachments, just by using the “Ctrl” and “Shift” keys while I’m selecting the files to send.

One of my favorite things in Gmail is the inclusion of shortcuts.  I’m a keyboard user, with the mouse being a distraction when I’m trying to pound through my work.  While Outlook supports shortcuts, other webmail certainly doesn’t, so it’s a nice addition to an already awesome product.  Another great feature is being able to have variations on your email address for ease of sorting.  For example, if my Gmail address is technologybytes@gmail.com, I can also receive emails at technologybytes+suggestions@gmail.com.  I could then apply a filter to have any emails sent to that address be forwarded to another email address, apply a colored label, etc.  You can use any number of variations, so long at your original prefix (technologybytes) is followed by a plus sign and your preferred category (+suggestions) and of course, the “@gmail.com”.

You can also conduct video and voice chatting through Gmail with the installation of a free plugin for your browser.  Google Talk is currently in beta, but it’s another service Google provides and it integrates perfectly with Gmail.  Another service that is integrated with Gmail is Google’s new social network, Buzz.  I haven’t done much experimentation with Buzz yet, but that’s a subject for another article.

There’s a whole lot more to Gmail that I didn’t cover.  There are websites devoted to the tips and tricks you can accomplish using Gmail, but I hope that this article will give you the information you need to get started.  Replete with features, Gmail is my choice for a free email; maybe it will be yours too!

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Mar
24

Use Caution on Craigslist

by admin

Classified ads have always been a staple of the newspaper, and the advent of the Internet brought us a new and exciting medium on which to sell or buy goods and services.  While entire websites can be online stores, selling from one person to another has always been easily facilitated by the use of a classified ad.  eBay (http://www.ebay.com) might be a great way to use an auction-based system for merchandise, but a direct correlation to a classified ad online is a website you’ve probably heard of:  Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org).

The beauty of Craigslist is in its simplicity.  One complaint from a lot of folks is that the interface and look of the site hasn’t changed much from when it was initially launched back in 1996.  It’s all text, organized by city, and it’s a terrific resource when you’re looking to buy or sell something without much hassle.  The service itself is free, so it has quite a following and a great number of online users.  However, since it gets so much use, there are bound to be unscrupulous people who are looking to take advantage of genuine people that are honestly looking to buy and sell.

Craigslist itself warns you on every auction to not do business with people from out of your area, hence the organization by city.  They advise that transactions take place in person, so that the risk of falling victim to a scam is minimized.  For a more complete listing of some of the types of scams that are perpetuated on Craigslist go here: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.

Some of the more popular ones include using money orders or cashiers checks for purchase.  The buyer asks if you would be willing to accept a money order for payment, and is willing to send you even more than what you ask.  Of course, he’d like for you to send back the difference via Western Union or some other money transfer service.  This scam is a dangerous lesson to learn, because once you deposit the money order in your bank and send back the cash, by the time the money order is detected as a forgery, the bank holds you responsible for the money order, and you’re out even more than you deposited, and the item as well.

Another one I’ve noticed of late isn’t so much geared towards getting your money, but instead is looking to harvest email addresses.  When you post an ad on Craigslist for an item for sale, your email address is randomized through Craigslist so that your email isn’t easily collected.  However, you do receive the emails from potential buyers with their questions or offers.  There has been a rash for these emails that seem legitimate, but are indeed from “bots”, which are automated programs that exist for the sole purpose of generating emails that trick people into replying from their own email address.  Once you send your reply from your email, they have your address, and the deluge of spam will start to arrive.  Before you reply, read their email carefully, looking for errors.  Some I’ve seen are in the capitalization of the city name (“lake charles”) or they post very general questions about your item.  (I see you buy broken iPhones, and I have a great iPhone in lake charles to sell you!)  You can always post a phone number for them to call, which can eliminate a few potential buyers, but if you require them to call for more information or with questions, you can safely avert any attempts to harvest your email address.

With Craigslist.org, as with anything on the Internet, there exists the need to be smart and safe.  I use it frequently to sell assorted items I no longer use or to advertise services I provide.  For buyers, it isn’t as dangerous, but for sellers, be extra cautious.

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