Welcome to the first show of 2012!  This is the beginning of our third year and I am certainly glad you are still listening and reading.

I want more of you this year to sign up and be members of the site. It costs (my favorite amount) $0.00, all you need is an email address and I will NOT SPAM you.  I think I sent out one email last year to all the members.

So anyway here you go with the notes from the latest show along with a link to the podcast if you would prefer to listen to the show.

Thanks for joining us.

Ron

Geocaching with Android http://www.geocaching.com/android/m
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.

Now you can geocache using your Android phone and Groundspeak’s Geocaching for Android Application.

Dad creates Autism App  http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/dad-creates-app-autistic-sons-15346472

Ron’s nephew, Joe Hill, creates an iPhone app to help his two kids, the family and the rest of the world with Autism.

I hope you are able to listen in and call in next month along with visiting the site between now and next month  on Monday, the 2oth of February, 2012.

Tags: aeir app, american life project, autism, bad news, broadcast, cable, content providers, e-book, e-reader, foxnews, internet, Jim Britt, love affair, new tv, pew trust, Ron Doyle, traditional tv, tv manufacturers, WSVA

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

Here you go another exciting (well OK hopefully interesting) thing Jim and I looked at this month on the show. 

Below are all of the applications, sites, etc. we talked about plus here is the podcast for your listening pleasure back at WSVA Online.

Have a great month and I  hope you will be listening and calling next month, Monday, December 19th!

Thanks,
Ron

Retail Me Not
http://www.retailmenot.com/
Coupon codes, printable coupons, grocery coupons for Christmas-or any other time!

Advice from the pros: For extra secret sales and discounts, get the company’s store credit card as many promotions are for card holders, only. HOWEVER–don’t be tempted to run up that charge card! Any savings you initially make will be lost if you are paying off a high interest rate.

Be cautious as sometimes they have good deals and other times just so-so deals.

I have been using Google Music, during the Beta trail, for the past month or two and it is slick.

I have uploaded all of my music to the site (about 2,500 songs and books) and can play it from most anywhere I can get online. Whether phone, tablet any computer, etc. They have a limit of up to 20,000 songs to be uploaded, stored and streamed (played online) for free.

They also have a store to buy more music at some very good prices. I think Google may have bet the competitors with this one.

See you next month and don’t forget to follow Double Clicks on Twitter and Facebook!

Tags: cellphone, cloud, cloud storage, Email, Emily Post, facebook, foxnews, Jim Britt, lumos, manners, ntelos, personal messages, place of worship, pleasure, quintessential guide, Ron Doyle, spoon

Mentioned on the show this morning:

• Cup of Joe for a Joe
  
  Someone from home wants to say thanks and send you a FREE cup of coffee.
  
  Participation in Cup Of Joe For A Joe is restricted to active duty Armed Services Personnel deployed in support of OEF or OIF.
• Mystery Guest, Inc.
  
  Share your thoughts on a dining experience in chosen restaurants in your area.  (Not any in our area…yet.)
• PhotoWipe (main site)
  
  PhotoWipe is a revolutionary imaging tool that magically removes unwanted objects from your photos. Just paint over them in black, and click go! Uncovers hidden details. Sit back and watch as cage bars disappear from the zoo, and your old boyfriend or girlfriend fades away. And best of all, it’s completely free!
  
  Two other freebies are at this site too.  “Shark Ticker” and one with a good name going for it, “Banshee Screamer Alarm“.

Tethering your HTC phone may not always be possible.  It depends on the phone and the service provider.  But here is somewhere to start looking.  Google for your HTC phone and provider and see what will and won’t work.

Apple tells us about antenna attenuation.

What is Steve Jobs’ actual email address and will “he” be the one responding to you?

Hopefully get a quicker talk with the higher ups at a company by asking to, “Please, escalate this call.”

See you next month, Monday, August 16 at 10:00 am.

Ron

Tags: coffee, computer, doyle, escalation, google, HTC, java, Jim Britt, microsoft, Ron Doyle, soldier, Steve Jobs, tethering, WSVA

I have been written to by several of the "Double Click" readers as to why I have not mentioned Microsoft Windows 7 very often.  The answer is that there are about 50 bazillion other geeks out there, who have written about it relentlessly since it rolled out to the public in October, 2009.  I figured I would let the clamor die down some before I started.

Today I come out of hiding with W7 (get used to the abbreviation, it saves column space). 

I will start with the question that I usually get first. "Do you use W7, yet?"  Yes, I do, everywhere!  I have been testing the pre-launch versions of W7 for about a year now.  I have been using the final version since it launched. 

All of my computers run this new Operating System (OS) including my wife’s notebook, save one.  I still run Vista on my home desktop because that computer has more software and data on it than any of the others.  Rebuilding that particular machine will take several days to get "just right". Procrastination wins! 

The next most common question I get is, "Should I switch to W7?"  That really depends on you.  If you are not happy with your current OS (Vista?) and you have the extra money, sure go ahead and make the change.  If you do not have any complaints, why fix it if it ain’t broke? 

That being said, I will as good as guarantee that if you do go to W7 you will like it.  It looks similar to Vista. However, it is much faster since it uses less system resources.  It has many very positive features that you will like.

When conversing about W7 the next question usually is, "What do you like best about the OS?"  My wise guy answer is, "Everything."  However, the primary element I enjoy was also present in Vista; though, it did not function nearly as well…the search feature.

Say for instance I want to run Excel.  I can click the orb (used to be called the start button when it was rectangular) or press the Windows key on my keyboard and just type, "excel".  A menu list is generated with everything on my computer that has "excel" in it.  The Excel program is at the top of the list.  All I do is press the Enter key and Excel starts right up. 

If I know that I have a file with the words, "Windows 7" in it.  I just type it, like I just did, and three files are listed.  Three columns which I wrote; one each in April and June of 2009 and the one you are reading now.

That is a great, efficient and very speedy way to work.  So thanks, Microsoft, for that as well as the additional features we will be talking about in the future.

Tags: excel, microsoft, orb, Ron Doyle, vista, windows, windows 7, xp

Mentioned on today’s show:

1. Learning curve will be large if you’ve never used computers.
2. Courses at BRCC and MTC which are excellent
   • I have had students from 16-96
   • Retired person 96 who just wanted to learn more
   • One woman in 80s who had a hobby and wanted to sell her hobby online.
   • I taught her to build her own web site and did a great job and sold her items
3. Desktop or Portable?
   • Screen Size
   • Can change text and graphics in most all programs
   • Size of monitor may be hard to navigate if too small
4. Still need “room” to move around on the screen.
5. Weight
   • My backpack weighs 11 lbs. would that be feasible for all?
   • How much do you want to carry around for a Notebook (~5-8 lbs.)
   • Small Netbook computers (~2 lbs.)
   • Tablet – iPad all the rage as of yesterday (~1 lb.)

Tags: citizen, computer, computer help, Jeff Ishee, Jim Britt, newspaper column, Ron Doyle, senior, WVSA

Over five years ago I wrote to you about an application that you could use to keep track of your books and DVDs.  I had many of you write back to me and tell me how much you liked it. Over the past year or so I have had several of you write back saying that you could no longer find "Libra" or any updates for it.  I searched the net for it and emailed all of you back telling you what I found, which was that it was no longer in production and I could not even find a forwarding address.  I did find the last version made, but I personally do not like using applications that are no longer in production.

I also told the writers that I could not really find a free replacement anywhere as good and easy to use as Libra was.  Well, now that has all changed…enter Data Crow.

I found this site from a friend who has been using it for the past several months.  Data Crow’s site says, "Data Crow is the ultimate media cataloger and media organiser." (No, that isn’t a typo, the site is registered in the Netherlands and they spell properly.)  I agree with their statement.

Say you have some DVDs or Blue-Ray discs you wish to inventory.  Whether you want this cataloging for insurance, your own personal lists or you are just hyper-organized you should give this software a try.  Data Crow is also free which makes it even easier to try.  By-the-way, the friend who uses it told me that he has over 1,200 music CDs and over 800 DVD movies he has cataloged so it will handle a bunch of data.

Some of you may be thinking, "Well I can just type in my CDs on Word or a spreadsheet program to keep track of them."  That is correct; however, Data Crow can do it much better and supply more information.

For instance, when you start it up you can use the Item Wizard and choose what you want to put in the database.  For instance, I chose DVD then I typed in the movie title I wanted to add to the database.  I entered a movie and in about 5-10 seconds it listed out several that I could choose from.  The items are from different versions of the same movie.   If you type (like I did) the TV show "Alias" it finds each season of that title.  Next, you select the correct version and it enters it into Data Crow.

But not just the name is displayed.  It adds the DVD’s case picture, all of the actors, the date of release, playing time, director, a full description of the title, and a lot more.

I haven’t tried CDs yet since I don’t have that many so I will leave that up to you to test.  If you use this Libra replacement let me know what you think. If you have a bunch of movies to keep track of it may import them from other programs, but I wouldn’t depend on that.  You may just have a lot of typing in titles ahead of you.  But don’t worry, I’m sure it will snow again and you will need something to do after shoveling.

Tags: alias, books, CD, database, datacrow, DVD, media, movie, Ron Doyle

I got an email from a reader in Mt. Crawford over a month ago asking an excellent question.  They wanted to know if there was a way to keep all of their programs up to date, keeping the latest version always on their system.

In talking back and forth with them we came to the conclusion that there should be something on the market that was similar to “Windows Update”.  WU comes with all versions of Microsoft windows as all of my readers should know.  It allows you to check and see if there are any new versions of your MS products that need updating.  If there are, it allows you to update them so that you can stay ahead of the curve.

After a little Googling and searching I found a program called Secunia-PSI.  I have no idea what “Secunia” means but PSI is for “Personal Software Inspector”.  This program does almost everything the reader wanted.  I have been testing it for a little over a month and it seems to work very well.

You can go to secunia.com to read about and download the personal edition of the application.  There are actually three different versions of Secunia.  They are OSI (Online), PSI (Personal) and CSI (Corporate).  I tried the OSI and it was adequate but does not look for as many programs as the PSI and CSI versions.  The CSI version is really for the corporate environment and home users do not need it.  All three are here: bit.ly/bx3f5u.

All versions are free but I recommend downloading/installing the PSI version which seems to  be very thorough.  You will find it in the middle of the three on the page recommended above.

The default setting for Secunia runs in the background all the time checking your computer’s software for updates.  I leave it like that on my desktop since I have loads of memory. However, for my netbook I just run it once a week or so.

I pride myself in always keeping all of my software up to date, so let’s take a look at how my three computers faired after being scanned by Secunia.

My netbook scored 100% as all of my software was up-to-date, yeah!

My notebook didn’t do as well.  There were four applications that weren’t up to standards.  But I still did better than 15% of users in Virginia; Secunia gives you this info if you register the product.  (free)

Now my pride and joy, my desktop computer…oops, I had 11 applications that were not where they should be.  I spent about an hour uninstalling some old versions which Secunia advised me to do, before I updated them.  I also downloaded some of the new versions from the links provided by Secunia.  And I learned a valuable lesson, as the bible says, “Pride goes before destruction.”

Now, let’s look at  a couple of drawbacks.  It indicated that all three browsers on my system were insecure and needed updates.  They are MSIE, Firefox and Google Chrome.  Come on, give me a break!  They were all updated and as secure as possible.  I guess it wanted me to uninstall all three of them. Of course, then my surfing the net time would be cut down considerably.  I decided to ignore those threats.  You can always make rules to ignore certain warnings.

Tags: application, browsers, desktop, netbook, notebook, PSI, Ron Doyle, secunia, software, update

Several of you continued the USB line of thought from the last column and mentioned portable applications.  I thought I had written about these years ago.  However, after a search of over 750 columns I’ve written I realized that I had not mentioned them, so here we go.

A quick definition is needed here for what portable applications are and how are they used.

A portable application is a “stand alone” program that does not need to be installed on a computer’s hard drive.  When you install a regular program there are files that are written all over your computer.  For instance, many entries may be made in your windows’ registry file along with other folders somewhere else.  A portable application is installed in one main folder and no other entries are written anywhere else on the system.  This is like a step back in time.  In the DOS days and the originating days of windows all programs were installed like this; however, things are now different.

The first and predominate portable applications site is called, appropriately enough, “Portable Apps“.  If you go there you can install the basic program on your USB stick and it will provide a lot of good “little” programs.  It creates a menu system so that when you plug your USB stick in it will pop up and you can run your portable applications from there.

There are three different Portable Apps from which to choose.  The differences are in size and  what programs you get with each one.  The first choice, “Platform Only” will only install the basic program.  I don’t find this one to be very useful.  It  is only 1.3MB in size but it doesn’t do much to help you out.

The other two installs are called “Suite Lite” and “Suite Standard”.  These two are respectively 150MB and 355MB in size.  The minimum recommended sizes for your USB device is 256MB and 512MB, again depending on which version you choose.

Each of the larger versions include most of the Mozilla apps like the FireFox browser, Thunderbird email, a messaging program, an antivirus program and several other apps.  The difference between the two is that the larger version includes Open Office Portable version.  That is an excellent substitute for Microsoft Office on a budget…it is free as are all of these apps.  You can look for other portable programs online too.

Why would you want to install these or a USB stick?  You go to a friend’s house and want to do some work on your newspaper column or your personal budget.  You can perform everything you need to on your USB stick after plugging it into their computer.  None of your information is left behind on their computer since you have used your portable “system” to do your work and store your files.  You can check your email, surf the web, etc. without leaving behind any of your private information on someone else’s system.

It provides a good use for your USB thumb drive other than using it for storage only.  There are other portable app sites online – Google for them.  Even so; “Portable Apps” is the first, and in my opinion the best.

Tags: computer, Firefox, google, iPod, memory, Portable Applications, Ron Doyle, thumb drive, usb

Free Antivirus Software:

• Avast!
• AVG
• Microsoft Security Essentials

Commercial Antivirus Software: 

• Norton
• McAfee
• NOD32

Tags: antivirus, computer, Daily News Record, Double Click, Jeff Ishee, microsoft, newspaper column, radio, Ron Doyle, WSVA