Free downloading is no longer FREE
Ever downloaded a soundtrack or a whole movie out of convenience and with the hope of saving a few $? Downloading free music, movies etc is actually illegal and since September 1st internet and record companies have begun to clamp down and are now sending out their first lot of warning notices to users who are suspected of downloading illegally. In fact those who are caught may even cop a $15,000 fine, so those free movies and songs will actually end up being a whole lot more expensive than they would have been to buy in the first place.
You may not be aware that members in your house hold are downloading items illegally through your internet connection until you are issued with a warning, or even worse a fine from you internet provider. All of the major providers (Telecom, Vodafone, Orcon, Tesltra etc) have begun issuing these warnings. Find out from your children how they get their music. Unless they have a credit card or a debit card they will not be legally downloading anything from the internet. It is important to understand that free illegal downloading could end up costing you a lot in the long run and will prove to be very expensive.
The easiest way to download material legally is to use iTunes. If you’re an iPod or iPhone user then you will be familiar with this program. iTunes is quick and extremely easy, you will also be getting the best quality unlike the free downloads which are often of very low quality. Unfortunately downloading items from iTunes and other legal downloading sites does incur a cost, but definitely not anything close to that of $15,000, usually between $1-$2 per song. Also if more people begin to download music and movies legally, then the price of these downloads will be set to decrease making this far more affordable. The music industry is forced to increase the price of music due to incredibly high numbers of illegal downloads of their material.
Google + Vs Facebook
Google has recently released it’s Facebook competition in the form of Google+. With googles massive search engine and resources it is proving to be a worthy competitor to social networking giant Facebook. It already has over 45 million members. Although Facbeook has over 800 million members it does also have a seven year head start.
The two networking sites are so similar that when one does something to create a point of difference from the other, the other reciprocates usually with a better option. Google+ brought with it a similar chat to that of facebook but added to it the option of video chat so that skype (owned by facebook) is not necessary. Facebook fought back with the incorporation of skype into it’s chat. Google+ has great privacy setting allowing users to create easy in manage friendship circles, so one can choose who gets to see what. This is available on Facebook, but with much more difficulty. It will only be a matter of time before Facebook makes easy to manage privacy settings, which are so attractive in google+.
With googles huge search engine one has to wonder, is Facebook going to move into this direction also? It has a large enough following and maybe it will be the only way for Facebook to win the social networking battle. With that in mind, it probably isn’t such a bad idea to secure your business an easy to locate Facebook page.
What To Think About When Buying a New Computer Monitor.
Buying a new computer monitor can be confusing with all the different CRT, LED, and LCD. But what does all of this mean, and what should someone be looking for when they are purchasing a new monitor. In looking at what to buy it is important to know exactly what you want out of your monitor.
An LED screen offers more intense lighting, clearer colour resolution and a sharper contrast which makes the LED screen perfect for those who enjoy quality colour and picture reproduction. As far as power consumption goes, an LED monitor could use up to 40% less power than that of an LCD. LED monitors have a much clearer picture from many angles and distances which LCD monitors do not. An LED monitor is going to cost a bit more than it’s LCD counterpart. An LED monitor is perfect for somebody who is constantly at a computer. Perfect for an office or someone who uses their computer for more than just general web surfing.
LCD monitors offer many advantages. First of all they are very light, easy to adjust and move. They offer a flicker free screen. They are very good on energy consumption compared with older CRT screens and don’t generate any heat. LCD offer reduced screen glare which leads to less eye strain. An LCD screen is suited for people who use their computer for general use. Perfect for a home office or study for family use. LCD screens are very easy to come across and a relatively cheap. Keep in mind the resolution and picture quality is less than that of an LED monitor.
CRT monitors appear to be a thing of the past and most manufacturers have stopped producing them. Despite going out of the market there are some advantages in these monitors. They have a much clearer picture quality than that of an LCD and are relatively cheap to purchase second hand (it is very unlikely to find a new CRT screen. They are extremely heavy, use much more power than newer LCD and LED screens, take up ,more desk space, generally have a smaller viewing screen and are awkward to position and move. It is best to leave CRT monitors in the past.
If you want to know more, don’t hesitate to ask us any questions and we will give you our professional opinion about what monitor would best suit your needs. We also have great deals on a variety of computer monitors. Give us a call 0800 FIX MY PC
Back-ups
We are seeing the same sad story constantly with some of our existing customers and new customers – They are losing everything on their computers because they have not done a back-up. If you want to keep all of your cherished photos, important files, contacts, music etc then it is vital to back up your computer.
Recently we had a customer whose computer crashed and lost everything. She was having problems for a while with her computer crashing and doing all sorts of strange things. By the time we got it there was nothing recoverable as her hard drive had completely crashed. As a result she lost everything on her cherished computer – photos, music, documents etc. There are a number of ways this could have been avoided.
First of all if she had got in contact with us soon as she had noticed her computer playing up we would have been able to diagnose a hard drive fault before it crashed completely and saved all of the data off it.
Most people have heard of an external USB hard drive which basically is a large USB memory stick and works the same way. These external hard drives are relatively cheap and come in a number of different memory capacities depending on how much you want to back up. These are perfect for those who want to keep their photos, important documents and music safe and easy transported. They are great for extra storage and a back up on a single computer.
There is another option which is not so widely known about and that is a NAS drive. A NAS drive stands for network attached storage. A NAS drive is not connected to any one computer. Instead they are connected to a router and visible to anyone who is connected to your network. NAS drives are available even when your computer is turned off, in fact it is like its own little computer, delivering most of the functionality of a business style server but with a more consumer friendly interface and a more wallet friendly price. A NAS drive system would be perfect for families with more than one computer or small businesses. It is a simple and effective way to perform a back-up
The best solution for this customer who lost all of their files would be to do regular back-ups. A computer can be replaced but photos and documents cannot if a back-up has not been done. We would hate to see any of our valued customers loose important documents and photos because they have not done a back-up. Talk to us today about what back-up solution would best suit you, your family or your business. We promise to give you prompt service and our professional opinion. We are able to provide our customers with both external USB hard drives and NAS drives.
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Desktop or Laptop
When buying a new computer it can be difficult to decide whether you need a laptop or a desktop. There are so many options to consider and it is not as simple as simply wanting one or the other. There are a few things to consider when making this decision. Laptops were once viewed as a downgrade of a desktop and did not have the same capabilities. This is no longer the case and it is really just what would suit the buyer better. Laptops pose what appear to be many advantages. They offer more flexibility in where you can use a computer, they are easily transported and fairly small. But there are some cons to having a laptop, and if you don’t need it, then you probably shouldn’t buy one and just stick with a desk top.
Where are you going to be using your computer the majority of the time? If the computer is going to be in the same place most of the time then a desktop is the obvious choice. If you are using the computer at a home office and spending hours a day on it then a desktop would be the best choice. A desktop will not overheat as easily as a laptop would with heavy usage. Desktops are designed for longer usage and lots of multitasking.
Laptops are great for students who need to access documents on their computers in class, in a library and at home. A laptop provides a student much more flexibility in assignments and studying as they are easy to transport and most have wireless internet capabilities. They are also perfect for professionals who need to travel a lot and will benefit from the accessibility of their computer being with them wherever they are. When buying a laptop you must take into consideration that it will not last as long as a desk top, its run off a battery which needs to be recharged and should not be used for hours on end.
This can all be pretty confusing and we are more than happy to discuss this with you further and not only help you decide if the laptop or desktop are more suited to your needs but we’ll also find you the perfect make and model to suit. This could save you $$ from buying something off the shelf.
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