GuruNews, Volume 9 Number 30, 8-20-09

Thu Aug 20 18:31:46 PDT 2009

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Vol. 9, No. 30                           

8-20-09

1 Neat stuff  

2 Umm… Dr. Gates…

3 Another Social Security snafu, magazine videos, Beatles tunes, SF database project

4 Handy links

5 Hardware upgrades

Every now and then I like to get away from dry and technical topics and have a little fun.  Talk about getting away from computers and enjoying the outdoors or nifty ways to goof off.  I’m in the mood this week to pimp my PC with some neat gadgets.

First up:  desks.  If yours is like mine it is pretty plain.  Wood grained particleboard that you had to bolt together out of a box.  It does the job but “meh”.  It’s boring.

How about a desk that looks like some of these?

http://tinyurl.com/lg4qjd

I’m itching to make something similar to the V1 Flagship but that Mini is awfully cool.

With a desk you have to have a chair.  For that take a look at some of the models at:

http://www.bizchair.com/all-computer-chairs.html

Among the seemingly endless list there you’re sure to find something comfortable and stylish that will mate perfectly with your desk of choice. 

Moving on to smaller (no to mention more affordable) stuff, how about a new keyboard?  There are some pretty bizarre looking ergonomic keyboards on the market for specific niches, like sufferers of carpel tunnel and other conditions, but I’m thinking more whiz-bang.

I’m thinking of backlit keyboards, some with LED or LCD panels to display information like this one:

http://tinyurl.com/lyv4ce

These things are great for working in low light settings.  I might as well be a vampire, as I prefer to work in the light from six or eight monitors and a TV.

Each key is lit so the characters are easy to see, and the spaces between the keys are illuminated to help with spacing.  Personally I use this one:

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/xoxide/saitek-eclipse-kb-2.jpg

Mine is red rather than blue but I love it.  The adjustable wrist rest is nice and the volume and illumination controls in the upper right corner are very handy.

Mice are also a required adjunct for any PC, and you can find some rather bizarre ones at:

http://www.fentek-ind.com/ergmouse.htm

Trackballs, touch pads, joystick mice, even mice for your feet.  If someone can think of it someone will make it.  

And to wrap up this little computer shopping spree, how about a mouse pad?  Optical mice don’t require them but who cares?  If you can find cool ones to accessorize then go for it.

But why settle for a pad?  How about a rug?

http://www.bitwisegifts.com/page/bg/CTGY/04000

Persian and Native American designs caught my eye but there are many styles to choose from.  You can even get matching coaster rugs!

I should make mention that none of these sites or products are endorsed (although I can say nice things about my keyboard) or recommended.  They’re just examples of some of the cool and funky options that are out there.

Often you can find neat items close to home.  Just browse through some of the local flea markets or junk stores and you might just uncover something that fits you perfectly and doesn’t cost $1,000.  Although I really like that V1 desk ;)

Kevin Mefford, Editor

pcguru at microdome.net

Terry Wise

www.ratland.com

Tech News of the Week

Another week, another Social Security snafu, this time with some numbers used in other countries that didn't necessarily match our system of issuing SSNs, but when entered into a debt collection system, were padded with zeroes at the front to match the same US format.  Now people in the US are getting calls needing people to pay up: 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hy-198lZYAltwbqaBxHgUY7damuwD9A437HG0

Video ads are nothing you aren't used to seeing on the Internet, or on TV, but in a magazine?  It's coming, says Ad Age:

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=138546 (there may be an ad that pops up, there will be a skip button in the top right)

The entire Beatles catalog has been digitally remastered, including all the original mono-recorded albums:

http://gizmodo.com/5340232/

San Francisco will be putting all the public record data online from various departments around the city in order for people to use and extract data in manners they see fit.  I would expect other cities to follow suit, and look to the Internet to see what people can do with all this data at their fingertips:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/19/san-francisco-opens-the-city’s-data/

Daniel A. Williams

daniel at thepcgurus.com

Download of the Week

This week, we’ll let you do some searching for free downloads on your own.  We’re often asked about software downloads that seem to come with some extra elements like adware (usually in the form of a toolbar/search bar) that got installed when the software was installed.  We try to make sure that our recommended downloads don’t contain those little “extras”, but if they do we warn you to watch for the option to install or not install the “extras” during the setup/installation of the desired program.  

The website Softpedia, www.softpedia.com , does a very nice job of certifying its downloads as free of spyware and adware.  When adware is included in a download, it is noted in the editors’ review.

We trust www.analogx.com , www.karenware.com and www.grc.com and the programs those sites offer for download.

Of course, our most often recommended downloads are listed below:

aVast: http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html 

AVG Free Edition: http://www.avg.com/product-avg-anti-virus-free-edition 

Spybot Search&Destroy Free: 

http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html 

Ad-Aware Free Edition: http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php 

Spyware Blaster Free: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html 

Malware Bytes Free: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php (Clicking on the “Download Free Version” redirects to Download.Com)

If you find a free download that you would like to share, drop us an email via the Team website, www.thepcgurus.com.

Carlita Lupino

Cards57 at gmail.com

Email Question of the Week

Q:  I have an older Logitech Video cam and am replacing it with a new Logitech Quickcam Communicate MP. Should I uninstall the software for the old one before I start installing the new software? Thanks for the good work that you Gurus do.

A:  I would definitely uninstall the drivers for the old webcam before installing the new in order to make sure that the files from one install don't get in the way of the other install.  Even if it's just an updated version of the original webcam's software, I would still feel better about uninstalling what you have before installing the new software.

Daniel A. Williams
daniel at thepcgurus.com

Contact info and legal stuff

If you have tech support questions or ideas and/or submissions for our newsletter please submit them by visiting www.thepcgurus.com and click on the “Email the Team” icon. 

Copyright 2001-2009 The PC Gurus, all rights reserved.  Publication, rebroadcast or storage is prohibited without prior consent, however you may freely forward this publication to friends as long as A) it is forwarded in its entirety and B) no fee is charged.

Information provided in this publication is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.  Although the information provided is known to work on most systems, it may not work on ALL systems.  Make use of any information supplied at your own risk.

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