Is Cloud Computing A Feasible Option For Businesses?

Cloud computing. Chances are that if you’ve browsed the internet lately you have come across this term. But what is cloud computing? Basically, cloud computing is another type of operating system for your computer. The only difference is that instead of the operating system being hosted on a local computer, the operating system and all your files are stored on a remote server. How do you access them? Through the web. Some services, like iCloud and the emerging Google Chrome OS, are examples of this. With iCloud, you go to their website and create a username and password for free, then you log in, and there’s your desktop! All your files are stored on the server as well, so you can go to any computer in the world with internet access–even if it isn’t yours!–and log into iCloud and use all your favorite files and programs!

So the question arises: would this technology be feasible for business use?

Obviously it would be a cost-effective option, seeing that the vast majority of cloud software is free, and it would run fine on low-spec computers. It would also mean that companies wouldn’t need to shell out tens of thousands of dollars to pay for servers to host all their files–it would be done for them.

It would also possibly mean more productivity, as employees could simply log in to their work accounts from anywhere and get right back to business, sharing files from computer to computer.

But then there’s the downsides.

First and foremost: security. Considering that the files are hosted thousands of miles away on someone else’s servers can bring up some concerns. Are your companies files in the right hands? For the most part, if you go the Google way and get their Chrome OS (currently in beta), you’ll be rest assured that it will be tough for bad guys to get ahold of your companies sensitive documents. But as with anything, there’s always the possibility of a security breach. Google has been hacked before, proving that it’s not entirely impossible to break in to even the biggest companies servers. If they do this again, it may be possible to get into the cloud servers, and access users files at will.

Also there is the threat of downtime. Since the files are only accessed through the web, if you lose internet connectivity you’re essentially left with a big paperweight for a computer. The nice thing about current operating systems is that even if you’re left without an internet connection, you can still work on your files that are stored locally. With a cloud OS, this isn’t possible.

So overall, if you are running a small (or even large) business, cloud operating systems certainly hold some promise, but you might want to wait a little for the technology to improve before you make the switch.

Do PC’s Last Longer Than Macs?

“PCs are better than Macs”.

Chances are that if you say something along those lines in an online conversation, your inbox will be flooded with tons of messages from die-hard mac fanboys defending their beloved computer. One of the more common responses that you’ll get is someone yelling about how Macs can last forever, whereas PCs can only last 2-4 years without needing to get replaced.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!

This is where most Mac fanboys fail the most. Although it is true that after 2-4 years you usually need to perform a minor RAM upgrade on your computer to keep it running smoothly, you do not need to go out and get an entirely new computer. Now, after saying this in the comment thread of a YouTube video a few months back, I was greeted with this utter display of genius:

“You still need to pay for the RAM you retard!”

Apparently someone failed first grade Math class. Let’s say that you shell out $1000 for a PC, then a few years down the road you get a $35 RAM upgrade. Now the total amount of money you have spent on the computer is $1035. As you may have already noticed, $1035 is still less than what you’ll be paying for the Mac… not including the RAM upgrades.

That is, if you can even upgrade the RAM.

What do I mean? Just look at this picture of the iMac, which is Apple’s best selling desktop computer.

Now you tell me how you’re going to get that thing opened up.

You see, most PCs are far more customizable than any Mac will ever be. With a PC, you can exchange 95% of the parts in it and it will still all work, but with a Mac, you’re limited to doing minor upgrades, like replacing RAM. Very few people would even dream of opening up–say–an iMac and changing the hard drive or graphics card.

And god forbid you try and swap the CPU.

Although chances are that if you own a Mac older than 5 years you might need to do just that. That’s right, as you might recall, older Macs were based on the PowerPC processor (the same one used to power the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) and they ran perfectly fine. Then one day someone over at Apple thought it would be a brilliant idea to ditch the PowerPC platform and use Intel chips to power their computers. Sure, why not? After all, all the newer operating systems released after the switch (like Leopard) would still run on older PPC computers, right?

Oh, wait.

Although it was true that Leopard was backwards-compatible with older PowerPC computers, the newest version of OSX–Snow Leopard– was not. Now suddenly everyone using an older mac was instantly left with an outdated machine, and were presumably forced to go out and buy another $2000 machine.

So let’s take a step back and look at the big picture for a second.

This iMac G5, which is around 6 years old, cannot run the newest version of the Mac OS (Snow Leopard)

Whereas this Dell Optiplex GX110, which is around 11 years old, could (with a minor RAM upgrade) run Microsoft’s newest OS, Windows 7.

So now think: Which lasts longer? PCs or Macs?

8 Command Prompt Commands You Can’t Live Without

Ahhh, the Windows Command Prompt. Chances are that if you’re a serious Windows power user you have used the command prompt at one point or another. Maybe you use it on a daily basis? Either way, here are eight commands that you won’t want to live without if you find yourself using the good ‘ol fashioned black box.

1. cd: The famous “cd” command is quite possibly one of the first commands you might use when starting up the command prompt. It stands for “Clear Directory” and it does just that. Typing in a simple “cd\” will bring you to your root directory (in most cases, it’s C:\”). Optionally, you can type cd\Path to go to a specific directory in your hard drive. (Replace “Path” with the path of the directory you want to go to. For example: WINDOWS\System32).

2. cls: Clears the screen. Simple, yet one of the best commands out there.

3. mkdir: Now that you know how to navigate to a directory, you might want to know how to create a directory. Fortunately, the “mkdir” (make directory) command can do that. All you need to do is type “mkdir name_of_directory” and the directory will be created. However, mkdir doesn’t stop there. Want to create a whole directory tree? Just type in “mkdir -p /tmp/a/b/c” (replace /tmp/a/b/c with the tree you want to create). How does this work? Well, the directory “tmp” exists, but the sub-directories “a,b,c” do not. Using the mkdir -p command creates the directory “a” inside of “tmp”, then creates “b” inside of “a” and finally creates “c” inside of “b”.

4. chkdsk: The chkdsk (check disk) command checks a particular volume for errors. This program usually runs automatically when your system suffers a sudden crash, but you can also run it manually by typing “chkdsk”. If you want it to fix the errors that it finds, then type “chkdsk /F”.

5. copy: This command copies files from one directory to another. Example: copy from [directory\file] to [destination]. You can also copy files to devices, such as printers. Example: copy file lpt1. This sends the file “file” to the printer on port LPT1.

6. del: Deletes a file or directory.

7. dir: Shows information about the current drive

8. ipconfig: Typing “ipconfig” alone will show information about your current network configuration, including the IP address and subnet mask. Additionally, if you want to get a new IP address for your computer or network adapter, you can type “ipconfig /release” (which will let go of your current IP address) followed by “ipconfig /renew” (which will assign a new IP address to your system).

How To Set Up Multiple iTunes Libraries

For the most part, we all have only one iTunes library with all our songs, podcasts, and videos stored on it. We can sync it with our mobile devices such as an iPhone or an iPod, even stream our media to another device such as the Apple TV. But what happens if you have multiple people using the same computer, on the same account? For example, my friend and his family all share the same computer, and they all have their separate iPods to sync to that one computer, that one library. The problem is that out of those 500 songs on the main library, my friend only listens to about 200 of them. So how can he get his own separate iTunes library with his own songs to sync with his iPod, without making another account or getting another computer?

Simple! Here’s how:

• First, you need to hover over iTunes in the Start Menu (or wherever you happen to have iTunes) and then, while holding in the Shift key, open iTunes. Remember to keep holding in the shift key while iTunes opens. Then, instead of getting the normal iTunes box to open, you will be greeted with a little notification asking you if you want to create or load an iTunes library, click “Create”.
• Once clicking, you will be asked where you want to save the new library. The default location is in your Music folder, with the name iTunes1 (iTunes is the name of the first library). However, you can change the name of the new library to whatever you like. Once done, just click “Save”.
• There! iTunes library created! Now you will be met with a fresh new iTunes window, with absolutely nothing on it! You can then put your own songs on it and sync it with your iPod without having to worry about interfering with anyone else. But now, how does another person get back on to their library?
• Just open iTunes while holding “Shift” again, and then this time in the dialog, click the button that lets you load a library. Go to your music folder, and then click on the “iTunes” folder (or whatever you named the other library). Then, there should be one file in there, click that, and your other iTunes library is loaded!
• Want to delete your other library? Just navigate to wherever you stored it and simply delete the folder!

Still having troubles? Try watching the video on how to do it!

Logitech Wireless EX110 Keyboard Review

Being a blogger, having a good, comfortable keyboard is key. If I don’t feel comfortable while writing, then chances are I’m going to get stressed out and not be able to produce quality work. Over the years, I have tried out many different keyboards, most of the time I have gotten by using the default Dell keyboards that came with my computer. But then just recently I was sitting down to write a new article when I realized that maybe the Dell keyboard wasn’t right for me. So, I dug around in my closet and managed to find a 2007 Logitech wireless keyboard. Curious, I plugged it in and gave it a go.

Amazing! As soon as I plugged in the wireless receiver, Windows 7 automatically started installing the drivers for it, and within a few minutes I was up and running. The first thing I noticed about the keyboard was it’s smooth, curved design. It just feels so comfortable to type using it! The other thing that I noticed was its large, raised keys. The Dell keyboard that I was using before has low-profile keys, which I was never really fond of. I like the feel and sound of the classic style keys, and I immediately fell in love with these keys. Because they’re the older style keys, they make quite a bit of sound, so if you are a heavy typer and are working in a quiet environment, then you might want to take that into consideration before buying this keyboard.

Ergonomics aside, let’s talk about the functionality of the keyboard. Although I was never really one for function keys, I can see where Logitech was going with this. If you love functionality in your keyboards, this is right up your alley. First of all, the keyboard has 12 different functions for the function keys; F1 is a “Help” button, presumably for office applications and the such, F2 is a Microsoft Word quick access key, pressing it will launch Microsoft Word (if you have it installed on your computer, that is), the same goes for F3 and F4, except for Excel and Powerpoint, respectively. F5 and F6 are Undo and Redo buttons, and F7 and F8 are Print and Save buttons. F9 thru F12 are marked “A,B,C,D” not sure what their functions are, but they may be programmable buttons.

But these function buttons aren’t the only ones, there’s also grey buttons along the outside of the keyboard as well. On the left-hand side (beside the Tab,Caps,Shift, and Control keys) are two buttons for navigating web pages, one is a “Stop” button, and the other is a Previous Page button. However, a “Next Page” button has been omitted. On the top left we have a set of standard media buttons for controlling video and music playback. Then, on the right, there is a set of volume buttons, as well as an email button, a home page button, and a calculator button.

So, if you are looking for a good ergonomic keyboard with plenty of functionality, then you might want to consider picking up this keyboard as part of the Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 setup for around $30.

Samson C01U USB Condenser Mic Review

I have owned several mics in the past. As I recall, the first one that I used in my shows was an old 1980’s Macintosh Mic. It was incredible at the time, but as the years went on the quality just got worse. Eventually, I found a great replacement in the form of a headset mic. I don’t recall the model, but I do remember it having phenomenal quality. I used it for several months as a standalone mic for my screencasts, but once I started making other videos that included my face, I didn’t want to have a headset on. So, I went out and managed to find an old grey condenser mic lying around. I used it for well over a year making videos, and the gain was incredible. I had it sitting on my desk behind me, and even though the placement was awkward, it picked up incredibly well. But then one day it just died, and I had to revert back to the headset. I used the headset for around a year, with the quality getting worse and worse with every video I made, until just this Christmas, when I received a brand new Samson C01U USB Condenser microphone. After using it for a few weeks with exceptional results, I have decided that it is time for a review.

Let’s start with the looks, the mic is quite large, after seeing pictures of it I had thought that it was rather small, but as I held it in my hands, I realized that it was actually pretty big. My hand fits around it snugly with just a bit of room to spare, and it is somewhat hefty when you pick it up. It has a nice professional wire mesh that looks great, and the body is a nice sleek, durable, silver shell. After using it in my videos for a while, I have gotten quite a few remarks about how professional it looks. This is the only mic so far that I have actually wanted to show in my videos! It looks like it would feel right at home in a professional recording studio, or even on the set of a movie, or TV production.

Of course, looks are nothing unless you get good sound quality as well, and that is exactly what the Samson delivers. The gain on the C01U is really incredible. Back a few weeks ago when I did the 2-hour live show with it, you could hear me in the background talking to other people, even though I was trying to be as quiet as possible! The sound quality is crisp and clean up close, but it still continues to perform great even at distance! Pops are a thing of the past with this mic, even when I get right up to the mic the sound still comes through nice and clean, with virtually no distortion or noise.

The setup? Simple. Because this is a USB mic, pretty much all I had to do was plug it in, and it was showtime! Windows 7 recognized it right away, and all I had to do was click a few buttons in Camtasia Studio 6, and I was all ready to record a great sounding video!

Overall, I think that if you want to get a great, professional mic with outstanding quality and great gain and durability, then you should consider picking up the Samson C01U USB Condenser mic for around $70.

Apple iPad Slated For Release In March

Over the last few weeks, Apple has got a lot of hype about its new tablet device–called the iPad– which was announced today at Apple’s “Come See Our Latest Creation” event in California. Steve Jobs received a standing ovation when he announced the product and demonstrated it to the crowd, but the question remains: is it worth it?

Let’s take a look at the specs: it has a 9.7 inch LED multi-touch display (1024×768 resolution), comes in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, has a 1GHz Apple A4 processor, and a lithium-polymer battery with an expected life of up to 10 hours.

Also, it comes with the same functionality that you can expect from the iPhone and iPod Touch. Things like:

Safari

The built-in Safari web browser lets you glide through full-sized web pages using your fingers. You can view pages in landscape or portrait modes, and all you have to do to resize the page is pinch with your fingers. if you are already familiar with Safari on the iPod Touch or iPhone, then you should feel right at home with Safari on the iPad.

Mail

Unlike Safari, Mail on the iPad is quite a bit different from Mail on the iPhone. When operating in landscape mode, you see a split-screen view of your opened mail on the right side, and your inbox on the right side. This makes navigating Mail on the iPad seem similar to navigating Mail on a desktop computer. Of course, if you want to only see the opened mail, just rotate the device back into portrait mode. Photos are viewable in Mail, and you can even save them to your iPad using the built-in Photos app.

Photos

The Photos application on the iPad is great for storing and viewing all your photos. As you can see in the picture, the iPad displays your albums in stacks. If you want to view the entire album, just pinch the stack, and the photos will appear. On the go? You can buy the Apple Camera Connection Kit and import photos to your iPad wherever you are!

Videos

The iPad is a great portable media player. Download movies on iTunes and then watch them on the high-resolution 9.7 inch display. You can watch HD movies, TV shows, and even podcasts on the iPad! Also, with the built-in YouTube app you can watch HD YouTube videos on the go! Log into your account and rate, comment, and favorite YouTube videos as well!

iPod + iTunes

Of course; no portable Apple device could feel complete without iPod and iTunes! The two apps work seamlessly together to bring you the best music and video experience possible when you’re traveling. Using iTunes, you can download music, movies, podcasts, and TV shows. Then, listen to your music and Podcasts using iPod! The iPod app looks reminiscent of iTunes for the desktop. You can browse through all your songs and podcasts while still having all your music controls at the top, no matter where you go! You can listen to music using the built-in speaker, or–using the built-in Bluetooth 2.1– use Bluetooth headphones!

App Store

The App Store that we all know and love for the iPhone and iPod Touch is back on the iPad– and better than ever! Not only can you download classic Apps–and even import existing apps from your iPhone–but you can also download iPad-specific apps that take full advantage of the iPad’s massive screen.

iBooks

With the iPad, you can now take all your favorite books around with you without taking up all the space of a normal book! Using the built-in iBookstore, you can buy your favorite books straight from the device! Everything from classics to new bestsellers is–literally–right at your fingertips!

So there’s the iPad in all its glory. Seems like a great Apple netbook to me, but I still have some issues with it.

• Portability: with an iPod Touch, I can bring all my stuff (Music, Movies, Pictures,etc..) around with me in my pocket. I take my iPod literally everywhere I go– to school, to my friends house, on vacation. It’s never that far away from me. But the iPad takes much of this portability away. For instance, I can’t take it to school with me in my pocket, nor can I take it with me when I go for a walk. Sure, I can take it with me in a backpack whenever I go on a trip, but it seems like it’s… detached from me. I don’t get the feeling I get when I have my iPod Touch by my side; always ready. So for this reason, even though I am getting the iPad, my Touch is still going to remain a close travelling buddy of mine for years to come.
• Capacity: the iPad comes in three different sizes: 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. But I wish that it came in larger sizes. Apple is showing off the iPad’s multimedia prowess to everyone, but the truth is that if you have a massive collection of Photos, ebooks, Music, and movies, then you can’t really fit them all on the iPad. If the iPad is meant to compete with netbooks, that it should at least have the hard drive capacity of them!

However, all in all, I think that the iPad will be a welcome addition to my tech family when it is released in March. The prices? You can pick up a 16GB model for $499 (Wifi model) and $629 (3G model). the Wifi model is scheduled for release this March, and the 3G version will come out in April.

Apple Tablet Confirmed For Release Tomorrow [VIDEO]

Rumors have been spreading around for weeks speculating on whether or not Apple will be releasing a tablet computer at tomorrow’s event in California. Well, apparently Mcgraw-Hill CEO Terry Mcgraw is confirming that his company has been working closely with Apple to produce e-books for the tablet device. Is it true? Probably, considering that he unveiled the product on live TV today. Here’s the video.

As you might know if you have gone to a school recently, McGraw-Hill is a major textbook manufacturer; a textbook manufacturer that has apparently been “working with Apple for some time“. McGraw has converted 92% of it’s textbooks into e-books, which are going to be a major selling point of the new “Apple Tablet”– which is possibly going to be announced tomorrow at Apple’s “Come See Our Latest Creation” event.

Well, all I can say is that I’m excited for tomorrow, because once the event is over, we will finally know the truth about this “Apple Tablet” and once again we can sleep easy at night.

The Apple event is going to be held in California at 1:00 pm EST tomorrow, January 27th.

How To Recover A Lost Password On Windows XP

Did you recently forget your Windows password? Frustrated because you can’t log on? Some password recovery programs can cost up to $50– and it’s pretty hard to download free tools without a working computer! Well, here’s a free way to reset your Windows password without shelling out money for useless software!

The trick is to use a simple command prompt (cmd) code to gain access to the account. This might sound intimidating, but don’t worry! It’s really simple and you don’t need much computer know-how to get it done! Just follow the instructions below and you’ll be fine!

• First, start your system up and press either the F8 key or the F12 key until another screen pops up. This should have several options on it, one of which should be “Safe Mode”, navigate to the Safe Mode option using the arrow keys and then press ENTER
• Once you are logged in on Safe Mode, go to Start>All Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt
• Once Command Prompt is open, type in the following: net user (account name) *
• Once you do that, press ENTER and you will get something saying that you should enter a new password for the user, just type it in (the password will not show up on the screen for security reasons) and then press enter, you will then get another message telling you to retype the password to confirm. Once you are done that, hit ENTER, and you’re done! Just restart your computer and enjoy!

Apple Event January 27 – What I Want To See

It’s official; Apple has announced that it is going to be holding one of its famous events this upcoming Wednesday. The slogan? “Come see our latest creation”. Now, this is getting me pretty excited! Obviously, Apple is going to be bringing out something big, and here are a few things that I would like to see from them.

An Apple Tablet

Over the past year, we have seen several major computer manufacturers enter into the netbook market, such as Acer, Dell, and HP. However, to the surprise of many, Apple hasn’t mentioned anything abut their interests in this emerging market. However, rumors are going around that Apple might create a tablet computer (iTablet?) to compete with netbooks. Here’s what I would like it to have (if released).

• OLED Display: the new, efficient, cost effective OLED display has started to become the norm for many pocket devices– such as phones and media players; and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Apple Tablet included one. Size? Probably somewhere between 8 to 13 inches.
• 3G Connectivity: Like most netbooks, the Apple tablet could have 3G connectivity built in, and would probably be tied into a contract with a major cell network.
• Media Card Reader: Pretty much everybody carries around a digital camera when their traveling nowadays, so it would seem foolish not to include a built-in media card reader, to make downloading pictures a snap on the go.

iPhone/iPod Touch 4G

Over the past 3 years, the iPhone and iPod Touch has stayed basically the same. The only real major changes have been software changes. But now, I think it is time for a complete redesign. Here’s what I want.

• Video chat: iChat is a great program for the Mac if you want to get in contact with friends or loved ones, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the same great video conferencing anywhere? That’s where the iPhone 4G comes in! It could include a secondary camera on the front of the system, then you could just point it at yourself and start chatting with your friends!
• OLED Screen: Just like Microsoft’s new Zune HD, the new iPhone and iPod Touches could include OLED screens to raise the battery lives and lower the price!
• Larger Capacities: If you have a massive media library, chances are that you’ll want an iPod Classic. With it’s massive 120 GB hard drive, It can house pretty much anything that you can throw at it. But what if you have a massive music collection and still want to experience all the iPod Touch has to offer? The Touch already boasts the large size of 64 GB, but the 4G would house an even bigger 180 GB solid-state hard drive. Able to store over 100,000 songs and countless hours of video– not to mention all the applications you can put on it.

iPod Classic 8G

If you want battery life, storage and overall simplicity in your iPod, then the current 7th generation iPod Classic is for you. However, I have a few ideas on how to make it even better.

• E-ink display: Chances are that you might have heard about the Amazon Kindle– and e-book reader that uses a new technology called an e-ink display to give it an amazing battery life of over 2 weeks. That’s 2 weeks with the screen turned on, folks. How does it do it? The trick is that the simple, black and white display only uses power while the objects on the screen are moving. So, if this was included on the iPod Classic, then you could get amazing battery life out of it! At least 48 hours of nonstop music!
• Massive Hard Drive: Of course, 48 hours of music would be rather small compared to the storage capacity of over 200,000 songs on its massive 360 GB solid state drive. Enough to hold months worth of music, thousands of pictures, and hundreds of hours of video.

So there, a brief taste of what I think might be unveiled at this weeks Apple event. What are your takes on the event? Leave a comment below