Over five years ago I wrote an article that told us about how Google had just bought up another small company.  That company was found on the web at grandcentral.com and it was evidently called Grand Central.  As the years went on I continued using the program with its new Google branding and it worked well, but I never started using it fulltime.  A couple of months ago I made the switch and now Google Voice is one of my favorite applications/sites.  As usual with all Google products, once it hit the mainstream, it works pretty much flawlessly. 

Google Voice has so many features that I will not be able to mention them all here; however, at Google Voice Help you can find out all you need to know…and more.  With some great videos here.

Remember, these features are my top five favorites.  Your opinions may vary with usage.

1)    First up is a paraphrase from Lord of the Rings, "One number to rule them all."  Google Voice allows you to have one phone number and you can set up which phones you want it to ring, from none to many.  So if someone calls your GV number it can ring your cell, home and office phones all at the same time.  This allows you to receive the call wherever you are located.

2)    The next feature I find very useful and fascinating is that all messages are transcribed and sent to your email, as is the actual recording.  So you do not have to call in to get your messages since they are immediately in your email.  This allows you to keep them as long as you want and even email them to someone else if you wish.  The transcription works pretty well but is not perfect; however, it has been my experience that they are close enough to easily interpret what they mean.  And sometimes they provide a laugh. 

3)    Next, you receive a call.  It shows you who is calling you, even a picture if you have them in your Gmail contacts with a photo.  You can choose to either answer the incoming call or send it to voice mail.  The interesting thing is that if you send them to voice mail you cannot only listen as they leave a message but you can interrupt and speak with them while the caller is talking.

4)    The next feature is one that sometimes moves to the top of my favorites.  If you have a person listed in your Gmail Contacts and decide you no longer want to hear from them you can block their number.  You block them from within your contacts settings online.  Once they are blocked and they call you, they get the standard, "We’re sorry you have reached a number that is no longer in service…"

5)    If you need to conference in many people on one call, like your seven member team from work Google Voice provides free (and very easy to use) Conference calling.

These are just the top five features I like in Google Voice.  There are many others like, answer on one phone and transfer to another, recording calls, setting when and which phone should ring by either time or who the caller is, free text messaging and on and on.

You get a local phone number free along with most everything else.  To quote Google, "All the features are free, except for calls placed outside the United States or Canada; you’ll be able to make those calls through Google Voice at an affordable price"…if you wish.

Tags: Email, google, laugh, lord of the rings, mainstream, office phones, paraphrase, phone number, transcription

A few weeks ago I said that, "Google is just a great source of interesting, informative and OK, just plain fun applications you can get for free…at least the large percentage are free."  Due to a large amount of email regarding Google I figured it is time to get onboard the Google train again.  It seems like every several years I have columns about new Google related things, so today we start another cluster of them.

Google Cloud Print is a fairly recent technology that has obviously been developed by Google.  Google Cloud Print (bit.ly/wlbCwv) can connect all of your personal (most of us have at most one) and business printers using the web.

Picture this; you are at your local favorite breakfast shop writing your weekly newspaper column.  Oh wait, that is what I am doing right now.  You remember that you need to print something to take with you to work the next day.  There are many ways you can digitally get this information to yourself to use tomorrow.  You could copy the file to your thumb drive – if you have it in your pocket, email the document to yourself, put the file in your Dropbox account (sign up for free here, http://bit.ly/aszzao) or ask the restaurant if you can use their printer on their private corporate network. These are all doable.  Okay  the last one is very, very iffy and the others require you to remember to check your device or email and print the file before you go to work.

What if you lived in a time where you could print the document to your home computer from wherever you were – as long as you had an internet connection?  Well that time has arrived! 

That is exactly what you can do with Google Cloud printing.  And I did not mention it yet, but you know me; it is another free service from Google.  All you need is a free Google/Gmail account.

Google Cloud Print has been made to work on notebooks, phones, tablet PCs and any other web-connected device you want to print from including Apple products.  You will read in some places that it requires a "cloud ready" printer, I say, "Malarkey!" I have it installed on my old Lexmark printer at home and it works fine.  As long as you set it up the way Google tells you and leave your home computer on and connected to the internet you are good-to-go.  The cloud ready devices connect to the internet by themselves and do not need a computer to connect them.  Not a big deal in my opinion.

It really depends on which device you want to print from as to how you install the application, so I will not get into details here.  However, the setup is very easy and has worked flawlessly for me on my phone, multiple computers and my Android tablet.

To get answers to any questions you may have regarding the "what ifs" and "how tos" of Google Cloud Print visit their support site at "support.google.com/cloudprint".  I imagine all of your questions can be answered there. 

Have fun printing from anywhere to anywhere!  Next week I believe we will be looking at Google Voice, so get ready!

Tags: breakfast, business printers, doable, Gmail, google, google gmail account, great source, home computer, internet connection, newspaper column, notebooks, panera, recent technology, thumb drive

I do not have any idea if any of you are like me, but I like keeping my eye on the weather.  My wife and I have found that online you can get many variations in not only weather predictions but even the current temperature…depending on which online weather site you visit.

For instance, right now for Harrisonburg it says that the current temperature is 35^o (wunderground.com, my personal favorite), 36^o (weatherforyou.com), 37^o (intellicast.com) 39^o (noaa.gov) or 40^o (accuweather.com) all depending on which weather site you go to.  I know that is only a five degree range which is not a big deal; however, it would nice to be able to have an absolutely, positively accurate current temperature wouldn’t it? Now if you want to get the most accurate forecast from those or any other sites, forget it.  You should be prepared for confusion and perhaps frustration.  After viewing several different weather sites you may come away thinking that they are actually reports for another convenient location and not your local area.

So today I would like to share with you a site that gives the absolutely ACCURATE weather reports, for anywhere in the world, that you can make all your outdoor plans according to and be guaranteed to have it turn out perfect. 

Well, OK, I would like to but I can’t.  However, I can point you to a very interesting weather site.  Weather Spark (weatherspark.com) may also vary in reporting weather conditions from other sites, but you can find all sorts of interesting things related to weather there.

When you first visit the site all you need to do is enter your zip code, press your enter key and give it five to ten seconds.  A Google map will appear on the left with some of your local temperatures filled in (again they may disagree with other sites, but that’s the way it is).  On the right is what the site titles a, "Beautiful Weather Graph".  Well, I do not know about the "beautiful" part but it sure is a great graph of the past, current and expected temperatures for the day.  You will also see the current temperature guess along with the current sky conditions, projected temps for the day, surrounded by the historical highs, lows and averages including the predicted wind directions, all by the hour.

I don’t have enough room here to tell you about everything but if you are interested, my advice for you is to go to the site, hover your mouse all over the screen and click wherever you see a button or a link that looks clickable.  You will see all sorts of historical and predicted weather info, learn something and maybe have some fun along the way.

You know when I was in college taking one of my meteorology courses I sure could have used this site.  It would have made the entire course easier, but the part about gathering historical data from the huge volumes of weather documentation would have been a cakewalk.  Instead of a week or so of falling asleep while looking up the data I could have completed it in 20 minutes.  YAY for technology!

Tags: accurate weather, current temperature, degree, frustration, meteorology, noaa, predicted weather, reports, variations, weather conditions, weather predictions, weather sites, zip code

Two warnings precede this information today.  First, I like most Google products and am a big Google supporter (read prejudiced).  Secondly, I work for Ntelos Wireless. Since I am going to mention phones I should warn you of any other possible prejudice.  When I talk about smartphones, etc. I am giving my personal experience not corporate information.

Now let’s get to the fun stuff.  Google is a great source of interesting, informative and OK, just plain fun applications you can get for free…at least most are free.  The one we will look at today scares some people.  I am in the camp of those others who could care less.  I imagine if you are a terrorist on the run from the Department of Homeland Security you would have an issue or two with Google Latitude.  But if you are a normal boring individual like me you do not mind it much.

Basically, if you install it on your smartphone, tablet pc, etc. (from your device’s marketplace) you can give your mapped location to only those you choose.  You can also hide your location whenever you choose.  The entire world will not be able to see your location, only your chosen "stalkers".  In my case only my wife and a couple of good friends can see where I am at any given time.  I only have one girlfriend and I’m married to her, so I don’t ever need to hide my location. 

Before anyone can view your location, you must either accept an invitation from them asking you to add them as a friend or you must request they share their location with you.  Then you must chose to either "Share best available location", which gives your most accurate location or "Share only city level location," which shows them the general area you are in, but nothing specific.  And of course, you can remove a person from your list and not share anything with them.

How close they are able to get to your location depends on the quality of your phone and how well Latitude is behaving.   Occasionally I will check it for fun when my wife and I are in the same location.  It has shown us to be over a mile apart but usually it is accurate to within 25-50 feet.  Hey, it is free what do you expect?

If I know my wife is leaving somewhere and I am going to meet her somewhere else I can follow her path on Latitude and ascertain her approximate location.  This helps me get there on time.  Of course, I could also call her but that just isn’t the geek way to do things now, is it? 

The last thing I will mention today is that you can go online to "google.com/latitude" and log into your Latitude account.  From there you can choose Friends, Location History or Check-ins.   Friends shows where your friends are which is pretty obvious.  The Location History gives you just that, where you have been. If you go to DoubleClicks.info you can see where I’ve been for the last 30 days.  Check-ins are neat too.  When you go somewhere you can set Latitude on your phone to remind you to check-in where you stop for a while.  You can add a picture to it, a comment or just check-in.  I just checked in where I am enjoying a pastry and my fourth cup of java.  Where do you think I may be?

Tags: accurate location, corporate information, department of homeland security, entire world, fun stuff, girlfriend, good friends, latitude, location, longitude, prejudice, security, stalkers, tablet

I was in one of my favorite places one Saturday morning recently talking to some geek friends.  One of them mentioned that their wallet was getting so full of  "store cards" they were thinking about just tossing them in the trash and not participating.  I then said those famous words you know so well in today’s society, "There’s an app for that."

You know the cards that he was talking about, don’t you?  The plastic cards you use to keep track of purchases at particular stores.  We are all familiar with the routine when you purchase something; they scan your card and give you a discount after the two-hundredth purchase.  Maybe you earned a free donut or get a discount on gas after you purchase a specified amount.  Not only do you get a small card to fit neatly in your wallet or purse but you also get a little card that slides onto your key ring. 

You get one of these for each store…now you get the picture.  Here is a way to get rid of them!

Check your cards now and see how many you have – could there be five, ten, 20 or more?  I had eight of them at one time including my library card.  That is until I discovered the Key Ring app for my smartphone over a year ago.  There are links at the Key Ring site (keyringapp.com) to download the app from your particular phone.  

It is really a slick little program.  After you install the app you need to set up a free account with your email address and password like usual.  Then start by scanning the barcode on the card you want to add to Key Ring.  It will get most everything that is listed in the barcode, like the cards logo, company name, your name, etc.  If the particular card is not in Key Ring’s huge database of stores you can enter it yourself.  Some cards do not have a barcode.  For those you can type in the account number manually.

Once you have scanned in your cards give the application a few minutes to update. 

One I use is the "Regal Entertainment Group Crown Club" card.  Using my phone and Key Ring I went to the movies and used the app.  Now this one does not have a barcode; however, the ticket taker typed in the number and it worked fine.  I also asked if they got many of these "cards" on phone and she said, "Every now-and-then."  So at least you and I aren’t the only ones.  Key Ring also listed that I had earned free popcorn.  I walked over to the snack counter, they scanned the "card" on my phone and I walked away with the popcorn.  Immediately afterward the free popcorn disappeared off of the Key Ring app.  Slick! 

Once you have them set up head over to the Key Ring site and see what other cards you can sign up for at the site.  It can search by your location.  I found two tire stores and 13 pharmacies I can sign up for now.  Wow, so many deals, so little time (and money)!

Tags: barcode, company logo, donuts, favorite places, friends, geeks, key ring, library card, morning, plastic cards, purse, Saturday, smartphone, store cards, trash, wallet

Thank you for all of the emails over the last couple of weeks regarding the past year in review.  Keep in mind you can find all the articles online at DNRonline.com and my site, DoubleClicks.info if you want to catch up.

Many emails asked about the Android Market link (market.android.com).  Before starting you should note that I work for Ntelos Communications, Waynesboro, VA, USA (that should make disclosure folks happy).  I have used Windows, Blackberry, iPhone (not as much) and now Android phones.  Android phones are currently my preferred flavor.  Keep in mind Android is the name of the operating system (created by Google) not the actual phone manufacturer, etc.  Again, that is opinion and I am sure there are a bazillion people out there who would argue with that statement.  But, I write the column…

The above mentioned site is the default Google site for apps available for this type of phone.  You can get free apps and some that can cost from less that one dollar to several dollars.  Of course, there are also free apps which are missing the enhanced features you pay for if you get the "Pro" version.  For instance, a game may have two adventure levels for free but if you purchase it you will get all 30 game levels.  There are games, business, utilities, entertainment, education and any other type of applications/programs you can imagine.

According to Distimo (bit.ly/ygIsBD), a company that watches of the stats of mobile apps, as of December, 2011, there were 400,000 Android apps in the marketplace.  Of those applications over 270,000 were free. 

In addition to the Android Market there are many other places to get apps.  You can search for apps online or go to specific sites.  Here are the other two sites I frequent. 

My number two favorite after the default market is the Amazon "Appstore for Android" (amzn.to/x2w2F5).  Many of the apps in the market at Amazon and everywhere else are repeated in each site online; however, prices may vary and some are only available at specific sites. 

Why is Amazon my #2?  If you log into the Amazon site you can get one free app every day.  I check the site most every day and have 250+ apps; however, I have only installed about ten of them.  I have the rest in reserve for future use, testing or forgetting about them.  If you buy one (for $0) you do not have to install it on your phone or tablet at that time; or ever.  Some of them are junk but some of them are excellent.  One that currently costs $9.99, "OfficeSuite Pro 5" I got free several months ago.  This application is basically an office program that will allow you to view, create and edit Microsoft Office files, i.e., Word, Excel and PowerPoint files with your smartphone. 

The final site I like is called 101 Best Android Apps (101bestandroidapps.com).  This is where new apps are released by developers before they are officially approved by Google for the Android Market. 

Wikipedia says that the approval process for apps is that Google, "…places some restrictions on the types of apps that can be published, in particular not allowing ‘sexually explicit material’, ‘Violence and Bullying’, ‘Hate Speech’, ‘Impersonation or Deceptive Behavior’, copyrighted material (without permission)…"

The 101 Best Android Apps site mentioned above allows many of the unapproved ones to be downloaded to your phone as an .apk file (similar to .exe for Windows).  Warning, be very careful when loading an .apk file as it could contain harmful code…check out the reputation of the developer first! 

Tags: android, apps, Blackberry, disclosure, free apps, google, iphone, microsoft, operating system, phone manufacturer, preferred flavor, smartphone, windows, year in review

As I stated last week, I annually provide links to all of the sites we have visited throughout the previous year at DoubleClicks.info.

Remember, if the site addresses are too long to type I have shortened them with bit.ly.  Here they are in their order of appearance with short descriptions of each.

• Ccleaner use this application to keep your computer clean and running more smoothly.
• Barnes and Noble the book store for paperbacks, hardbacks, Nooks, e-books and e-magazine plus. 
• RocketDock an attractive and fun program launcher for Windows.
• DropBox free cloud storage with auto-syncing, for your files and yes, use this link and I get some extra space, thanks in advance!
• Windows Live cloud storage, email and many more applications for your online use.
• e-Sword downloadable Bible for study, reading with commentaries and much more.
• YouVersion an app that allows you to read, search and study the Bible via your smart phone or online.
• Stumble Upon shows you categories you are interested in and gives you new sites every time you log on to read and learn about.
• About.com use this site (among many others) to verify the truth about the Nigerian prince who needs your help and many other online scams.
• Calorie King go to this site and find out more than you may have wanted to know about all the food you eat…including fast foods.
• Endomondo Sports Tracker this is installed on your smartphone and then you can track many "workout" things such as your average speed, altitude, length of workout, distance, and other related numbers. Use it with Google maps and see the path you have taken.
• Fix My Phone check out one way you may be able to resuscitate your drowned cell/smartphone. 
• Craigslist a site for buying or selling things online; however, I am not at all fond of it. Read the original article at DoubleClicks.info and see why.
• Help, I’ve Been Scammed check out why I am not fond of Craigslist.
• WorldLingo Service free professional language translation online. They work in conjunction with Microsoft Office translations.
• Toshiba Thrive in my opinion the best tablet C currently on the market…yes, including the fruit pads.
• Netflix watch many movie and TV shows online. You can also order DVDs but you already knew this didn’t you?
• Swype a smartphone and tablet PC typing program.
• Skype allows you to call phones and other computers via the internet with the capability to have video along with your audio.  It is a free computer-computer and smartphone-smartphone service but for phone calls check out the rules on their site.
• Android Market one of the several software sites for your Android phone.
• Twitter.com, Facebook.com you already know what these are and if not, do not be concerned Google for them and read forever.    B-}
• Connectify lets you set up your own Wi-Fi Hotspot.
• PC Decrapifier will scan your system and suggest software you can remove which you most likely do not need. 
• Ninite is where you can pick most of your favorite applications that you want installed on any computer you own.  Download a file to run on a computer and it will add those programs you picked. Quick and easy installs.

Please do not forget to go to DoubleClicks.info (oh, wait you are reading this here already) for the complete stories, along with many others.  This week and last only contained links I used during last year.  There are many other articles on the site and at DNROnline.com that had no links but some great information.

That’s all for 2011!  I look forward to seeing you in the paper and online in 2012.

Tags: average speed, barnes and noble, bible study, calorie king, commentaries, ebooks, emagazine, free cloud, fun program, google, google maps, nigerian prince, nook, original article, program launcher, reading, smart phone, smartphone, study, stumble upon

Thanks to all of you readers who support the "Double Click" column by reading and writing.  It is very much appreciated.  Please keep it up.  I always enjoy hearing from you.

So it is that time of year again when we review all of the sites I have mentioned over the previous year.  As always, have fun remembering, discovering, or rediscovering all the info!  If you prefer to click on links and not type all of these, visit the DoubleClicks.info site and click away.

If the site addresses are too long to type I have shortened them using the, "bit.ly" app which I have discussed before.  All of these sites should be free (or have a free version) unless marked "nf".  Without further ado…here they are in their order of appearance with short descriptions of each.

• Open Office is a Microsoft Office clone that works almost as well.
• Ubuntu a free operating system which you can run alongside of or instead of Microsoft Windows.
• Ron’s video training I created a couple of videos for fun, it never went any further than these two…maybe one day.
• Change your User Account Picture one specific Double Click training video.
• VirtualBox an application that allows you to run multiple operating systems on one computer.
• Open DNS the best app out there for blocking objectionable sites from the kids.  It is slightly complicated but at the top of the features pile.
• Facebook you know about this one and if you don’t you won’t be interested.
• Windows Live Essentials a free suite of applications which do many different things from Microsoft.
• Create a Panorama an article I wrote for Microsoft about how to join individual pictures together to make a panoramic picture.
• Double Clicks my site for this column.
• eBay, TigerDirect.com, NewEgg.com, 1SaleADay.com, DealDump.com online tech stores, the sites are free but the stuff on them is nf.
• Active KillDisk application to absolutely clean your disk of personal information and everything else.
• True Crypt folder and/or file (and more) encryption software.
• XOOM this is Motorola’s entrance into the PC Tablet market, it is a good one, but later in the year I show you the best (IMHO).
• Keepass.com, LastPass.com, RoboForm.com, 1Password are some of the password recording applications around, still I chose KeePass over the rest.
• Open Wi-Fi leads to False Arrest an article showing why you should lock down your wi-fi network to stay out of jail.
• Your Home Router (192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1) the IP Addresses that will most likely get you into your home router.
• Nook Barnes & Noble’s ebook reader.
• Project Gutenberg where you can download most any book that is not under copyright any longer.

OK, this took us through June, 2011.  Next week we will visit part 2 of last year’s links.

Tags: clone, different things, Double Click, ebay, free operating system, free version, microsoft, microsoft office, microsoft windows, multiple operating systems, open office, panorama, previous year, Ron Doyle, target, time of year, training, video training

This will be the last you hear from me in the DNR until 2012 so I thought I would give you some Christmas geek tips and sites to tide you over through the holidays.

First, I figure a few of my readers are getting new computers for Christmas.  Yes, from your emails I realize some of you wanted a column about picking new computers.  I only do those every couple of years so you will have to wait on that.  However, I do have a couple of suggestions on applications you should use on your new computer.

Before you go anywhere online with your new computer MAKE SURE you have an antivirus application working.  After your new computer is online go to pcdecrapifier.com to download Decrapifier.  Geeks call the free apps that come preinstalled on a new computer "Crapware" since most of it is junk and unnecessary.  I will not list them here but there are many.  I even suggest removing the free antivirus app that comes preloaded and getting one those you can get for free.  Most likely the free antivirus software is free for a short period of time.  Then you have to purchase it to keep it going.

Decrapifier scans your system and suggests software you can remove which you most likely do not need.  You can choose which ones to get rid of and keep the ones you like.  Just follow the directions and you will be fine.

After you remove the programs you may never use it is time to install all of your favorites.  You know the apps I am talking about.  For example the applications I always want on my computer are Firefox as my browser, Thunderbird for email, Skype, iTunes, VLC, Microsoft Security Essentials and several others.  I count these as my personal default applications.

If you go over to the Ninite site at ninite.com you can choose programs you want installed on your computer.  Now not all of the programs in the world are on the site, but the major ones you hear about and use are available.  If you want one that is not on the site you are out-of-luck this time.  However, you can ask for the missing app to be added to the list and it may be there next time you visit.  Once your list is complete click the, "Get Installer" link, download it and run it.  The applications will automatically be installed on your new computer.

I have run Ninite several times over the past few years and it works very well.  However, the last time I ran it; one application could not be installed.  So for that one, I had to go to the application’s site and install it there as I did in the "old" days.

OK, I know this is the Christmas column so I cannot leave without giving you the link to Norad so you can follow Santa on his flight later this week.  Surf to the Norad Santa Tracker at noradsanta.org and follow the man.

Tags: christmas, decrapifier, dnr, Email, free antivirus software, free apps, geek, holidays, itunes, microsoft security, new computer, ninite, remove unwanted apps, security essentials, skype, thunderbird, time, vlc

I recently received an email from a reader asking about SSD compared to HDD.  What the heck are those initials…new government agencies?  Not quite.   They stand for "Solid State Disk" (or Solid State Drive or Solid State Disk drive) and "Hard Disc Drive" respectively.

The HDD is the hard drive you are most likely using on your computer.  It is generally made up of platters of metal disks stacked on top of each other.  Information is stored on both sides of the platters magnetically.  There is a slight space between each disk with room for a "head" or magnetic reader on an arm which moves back and forth on both sides of each platter to read and write the magnetic info.  If you are old enough, just picture an old record player and a spindle stacked with records with tone arms between each record.  The major differences are size and the fact that an HDD spins at 7,200 rpm instead of 72 rpm. 

But what about the SSDs?  They are more advanced yet much simpler to explain.  SSD is basically another form of device used to store and retrieve data. Instead of metal platters it uses a solid state memory to hold the information.  A big plus is that there are no moving parts, meaning less battery drain and absolutely no noise.

The reader asked if they should switch to SSD and trash their old HDD.  I say not yet, for several reasons. Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of SSDs.

Advantages of SSD:  Applications run through SSD will run much faster.  SSD devices require less power and no heat is produced.  SSD runs silently because it only uses computer chips, not moving parts. Access speed for reading is faster because it doesn’t have a moving part to run around disks looking for places to read or write data.  Mechanical reliability inside the SSD will be higher – mechanical failure wouldn’t happen as often, if ever.  SSD is shock resistant with no moving parts to break when dropped.  It can operate up to a temperature of about 160°F. HDDs are good up to about 110°F.  SDDs are much lighter in weight and smaller in size than HDDs.

Disadvantages of SSD:  Storage space is tiny compared to HDDs.  There is has been research to design and make a 1 Terabyte SSD, but it is not available yet.  1TB HDDs are readily available.  The write/erase cycle for SSD will not last as long. SSDs can supposedly go for a maximum of 100,000 cycles; whereas a regular HD can go for maybe 1-5 million write cycles.  This means performance of the SSD will decrease over time.  The big issue for me is that the price of SSDs is much higher.  The 1TB drive mentioned above is about $150.  However, a 128GB (about 1/8 the storage size of 1TB) SSD costs a little over $200.

I believe in the future all computers will be using SSDs to replace conventional hard drives.  But first prices and storage sizes have to get closer to the current HDD stats in order to be viable.  If you want to see what the future of SSDs will look like, search online for "Ultrabook."

Tags: access speed, battery drain, computer chips, disc drive, failure, hard disc, hard drive, harddrive, local storage, magnetic reader, mechanical reliability, moving parts, platters, record player, solid state disk, solid state disk drive, solid state drive, spindle, ssd, ssds, tone arms, what the heck