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.
0800 FIX MY PC
Emails
Do you have a small business that you want higher productivity from? Answer yes to any of the below questions and you should give us a call.
- Do you have a company email address that is not linked to a domain e.g companyname@xtra.co.nz as opposed to jill@companyname.co.nz
- Do you check emails on both your phone and computer but get confused as to what you have read and replied to already as they are not in sync?
- Are you changing computers from home to office but they are not connected to one server?
All of these issues are very common among small business and very easy to fix. Pc Experts is able to secure a domain name for your business so your email address and be @businessname instead of @xtra, @gmail etc, even if you do not have a website..
If you’re having issues with your emails not being synced from computer to phone etc then we can also fix this for you. For a very small yearly cost we can set you up with a google account which is extremely easy to use and sync all of your emails. You can also keep your current email address when doing this and use outlook express.
Using a computer from home and office can be difficult but it can be made much easier if they are both connected to one server. We can help you with this, set up a server and show you how to use it.
These three points are very important in running a business efficiently, saving time and with no confusion. If you have any more queries on any of these pints feel free to give us a call or email us and we will be sure to answer any questions you may have.
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Tablets
There has been a lot of talk about tablets recently and what they could be useful for. The obvious advantage of having one would be when travelling. They are small, transportable, light and wont take up too much room in your hand luggage. What’s better is that they are basically a mini computer allowing you to do all the functions you would want to use on a computer while travelling, but without the size burden.
They are not an alternative to a computer or laptop by any means, and probably shouldn’t be used as a replacement. They can connect to the internet through a wireless connection or data stick just like other computers and laptops. Some do have a USB port but they are best for general web surfing and nothing too complex.
When travelling it can be important to have email access and internet banking. This is easy to access on a tablet and you don’t have the awkwardness of resting a hot laptop on your knees, finding a place for it to sit and bothering with power cords. Also you may be wary of internet cafes and the safety of your passwords and bank details when using these computers.
Tablets are a great alternative to laptops and internet cafes when travelling. They are light, small and easy to use. They are also a good way to ensure you personal information is kept safe and secure and you wont incur the costs of going to an internet café. PC Experts can supply tablets and if you have any queries on them we are more than happy to answer any of these questions.