tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61649558920062327032024-03-08T03:34:11.435-08:00Computer & Technology ReviewsComputer and Technology Reviewsssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-63185167925359362462016-12-27T01:24:00.002-08:002016-12-27T01:24:06.685-08:00Get support for Quicken!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In the past, if you were a Quicken user, you were basically left to find support through the user community.<br />
<br />
However, now you can contact Quicken Technical Support either via Chat or by Phone!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.quicken.com/support#windows">https://www.quicken.com/support#windows</a><br />
<br />
Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will be able to see the links for chatting and calling technical support.<br />
<br />
<b><i>For your reference, the phone number for Quicken Technical Support is: (650) 250-1900. Their hours are Monday - Friday 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time.</i></b><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-53765147693181430912016-11-20T14:49:00.003-08:002016-11-20T14:49:53.185-08:00Watch TV Shows for FREE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yahoo has a new site which allows you to watch many TV Show Episodes for FREE!<br />
<br />
You can check it out here: <a href="https://view.yahoo.com/">https://view.yahoo.com/</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-27375862290883041612016-11-03T13:51:00.001-07:002016-11-03T13:51:15.504-07:00Disney Movies Anywhere Contact Information<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you use Disney Movies Anywhere to view your movies online or on a variety of streaming devices, you may encounter a problem (as I did recently) whereby the online digital codes are either marked as already redeemed or invalid.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, if you visit the Disney Movies Anywhere site, there are not many options for contacting support: <a href="https://secure.disneymovierewards.go.com/contact-us.htm">https://secure.disneymovierewards.go.com/contact-us.htm</a><br />
<br />
Thankfully, though, by sending an e-mail via this Contact Us form, I was able to get the phone number for contacting a Disney Movies Anywhere representative which is <b>(855) 347-3722</b>.<br />
<br />
After talking to a representative, I was able to get a replacement digital code and add get it added to my Disney Movies Anywhere collection!</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-52143955947988519132016-09-27T11:16:00.003-07:002016-09-27T11:16:29.420-07:00Chase Rewards Points and using Shop with Points on Amazon.com<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are a Chase Rewards Points member through owning a Chase Credit Card or Chase Debit Card, you may have used the "Shop with Points" feature on Amazon.com quite frequently since Amazon.com allows you to link up your Chase Rewards Points with your Amazon.com account.<br />
<br />
However, as of September 1st, you lose dollar value when shopping with Chase Rewards Points!<br />
<br />
Starting <b><i>September 1st, 2016</i></b>, <b>125 Chase Rewards points</b> = $1!!<br />
<br />
So do you just live with the downgrade or is there a workaround to this Amazon-imposed limitation?<br />
<br />
Well, fortunately, $1 = $1 when it comes to shopping for Amazon Gift Cards on the Chase Rewards site. Therefore, for 2500 points, you can buy a $25 Amazon Gift card and likewise 5000 points can buy you a $50 Amazon Gift card. You can then redeem these gift cards on Amazon.com just as you would with the Chase Rewards points . On the downside, you have to wait 5-10 days for these Gift cards to be shipped to you, whereas the "Shop with Points" feature was available instantaneously when you checked out, but at least you will not lose any dollar value when you shop on Amazon.com!<br />
<br />
The other alternative, of course is to get a Chase Amazon.com Visa card which also does not lose point value on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to rack up points on the Chase Amazon.com Visa card even after spending hundreds of dollars vs. using either the Chase Freedom or Chase Unlimited Freedom credit cards, but it is yet another solution to this significant reduction in point value on the Amazon.com site!<br />
<br />
Happy Shopping! :-)</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-27942916383442566752016-07-14T05:08:00.002-07:002016-07-14T05:11:50.844-07:00Anti-malware solutions for Windows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently spoke to a friend that was infected with a new piece of Malware which prevents installing tools such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, so I thought that I would help him investigate other tools that help remove Malware.<br />
<br />
Of course, there is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (which was not working for him in this case): <a href="http://www.malwarebytes.com/">http://www.malwarebytes.com</a><br />
<br />
But there are other tools such as Lavasoft Ad-Aware: <a href="http://www.lavasoft.com/">http://www.lavasoft.com/</a><br />
<br />
Another tool which I have used often in the past is Spybot: <a href="https://www.safer-networking.org/">https://www.safer-networking.org/</a><br />
<br />
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware also has a tool called "Chameleon" which fools malware into thinking it is another tool instead: <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/chameleon/">https://www.malwarebytes.com/chameleon/</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-45251002465690066112016-07-05T09:12:00.003-07:002016-07-05T09:12:44.323-07:00Host4ASP.NET is a scam!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last year I decided to find a new hosting provider and came across this hosting provider for ASP.NET: <a href="https://host4asp.net/" marked="1">https://host4asp.net/</a><br />
<br />
Everything seemed to be going well until all of my users were complaining about site accessibility.<br />
<br />
I had set up the site initially more than 30 days earlier and when I inquired about getting a refund for my service, because my 30-day trial period was over, they would not issue either a partial or a full refund for my hosting services.<br />
<br />
So, since the service was unreliable, I ended up switching to another hosting provider for hosting my production site and instead used Host4ASP.NET as a test hosting site.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, this was even problematic as I was not able to log into the Control Panel any longer and I could never get a hold of the customer service team either through e-mail or through the provided chat on their website.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, I lost my money on hosting with this ASP.NET Hosting Provider, so for all other customers out there--<b>BUYER BEWARE!!!</b><br />
<br />
<b> </b></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-18597204098102543892016-05-03T10:48:00.000-07:002016-05-03T10:48:01.688-07:00Review of Netgear ReadyNAS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have been using NAS devices on my home network for a very, very long time. My very first NAS device was simply a USB hard drive plugged into a network sharing device making the hard drive available on the network.<br />
<br />
However, once the Netgear series of ReadyNAS devices was released, I bought my very first ReadyNAS Duo device which was a 2 Hard Drive system supporting mirroring (RAID 1) using a file system format called X-RAID.<br />
<br />
Of course, Netgear released new versions of their ReadyNAS devices nearly every year so I began upgrading my devices to larger devices supporting 4 disks as well as adding support for new features such as USB 3.0, X-RAID 2, faster Ethernet and disk transfers, encryption, antivirus, defragmentation, cloud support and support for Apps.<br />
<br />
Well, my most recent purchase is the ReadyNAS RN214 device which is a 4 HDD system with a front LCD display and support for USB 3.0 as well as many of the other features mentioned above.<br />
<br />
Whenever I buy a new Netgear ReadyNAS device this usually means that I have to migrate from one of my older ReadyNAS devices to the newer device. In my case, this meant migrating from a ReadyNAS RN104 device to my RN214 device.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, in the area of migrating and re-using HDDs from one ReadyNAS device to another, the Netgear ReadyNAS devices pretty much fall flat on their faces.<br />
<br />
If I take a single hard drive out of an older ReadyNAS device and move it to a newer ReadyNAS device, the newer ReadyNAS device cannot typically read it or format it because of different firmware versions or different architectures or different models. ReadyNAS recommends moving an entire set of disks to the newer ReadyNAS device, however, this can only be done if they are the exact same model of ReadyNAS. If they differ in processor architecture, once again this method is a no-go. Therefore, many times I have to attempt to re-format the disk or disks in Windows and then attempt to add them to my new ReadyNAS device.<br />
<br />
However, because of the proprietary file system format of X-RAID/X-RAID 2 in ReadyNAS devices, in many cases, I am not even able to read the file system in Windows which leaves me to resort to a full Factory Default of my ReadyNAS device!!<br />
<br />
This is absolutely the worst solution <b>EVER</b>!! A <b><i>Factory Default </i></b>of course means completely wiping out everything on the existing disks. If you have an existing set of disks and you are simply adding another disk, this means losing <b>ALL </b>of the data that already exists on these disks!!<br />
<br />
If you are unable to perform a Factory Default, then those other disks essentially become <b>COMPLETELY USELESS</b>!<br />
<br />
In these cases, the only migration strategy available to you becomes purchasing a whole new set of hard drives for the new ReadyNAS system and then running a backup job to migrate from one ReadyNAS system to the other. Based on the amount of data on your existing ReadyNAS device this may take several days or longer!!<br />
<br />
Finally, once all of the data is migrated, you can then perform a Factory Default on your old device to completely re-format all of the disks or break the volume and then format them individually so that you can use them on a Windows system.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, this is an <i><b>ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE</b></i> migration strategy and definitely the bane of using the Netgear ReadyNAS systems!<br />
<br />
If you are just interested in setting up a ReadyNAS system for the first time and do not plan to go through migrations frequently, the ReadyNAS system is still a great NAS device for your home network and is highly useful in all other respects.<br />
<br />
Below is an example of how the X-RAID system works on a Netgear ReadyNAS device (the RN214 system in this case):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlznC4oCBKJzWm8SmWggwQV0hkLcue1WPaVPvA_rVVuaFftEygtjEFoD3l_-J0Aoz2bxR9hYdr9uSQRL9qWxXKLgLN0RKFEemZiUvqn50qvWZJ6T1Vd26CD6wGzLRDHVc-ylrKYKC7h_Y/s1600/ReadyNASJBOD.jpg" imageanchor="1" marked="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlznC4oCBKJzWm8SmWggwQV0hkLcue1WPaVPvA_rVVuaFftEygtjEFoD3l_-J0Aoz2bxR9hYdr9uSQRL9qWxXKLgLN0RKFEemZiUvqn50qvWZJ6T1Vd26CD6wGzLRDHVc-ylrKYKC7h_Y/s320/ReadyNASJBOD.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When you have a single HDD in your ReadyNAS device, X-RAID formats the single HDD as JBOD format.<br />
<br />
But, once you add a second HDD to your ReadyNAS device, you get the following:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU8FY78hTdvScd62XtCu5U5-8pfUQZy-EyT4i9ZTXxIyi6DdCp1fZErv4kySFjp6cgjENRhk7z9tvbjTSqBgljRiQK9PHhyphenhyphenLJ8Au3rLqvSyvvy2yy4xEM9iU9Rnps7Z-pVJf6_bmbTV4/s1600/ReadyNASRAID1.jpg" imageanchor="1" marked="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU8FY78hTdvScd62XtCu5U5-8pfUQZy-EyT4i9ZTXxIyi6DdCp1fZErv4kySFjp6cgjENRhk7z9tvbjTSqBgljRiQK9PHhyphenhyphenLJ8Au3rLqvSyvvy2yy4xEM9iU9Rnps7Z-pVJf6_bmbTV4/s320/ReadyNASRAID1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Adding the second HDD suddenly switches over to RAID 1 which supports mirroring of your data and thus provides the true benefit of using a NAS device on your home network.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7ih1H58Jg2uppXh-mbSde8qDKFP6jsBljA3v1aiosTfZwG7dZV2hceDfhMe_ItjxX0m0f5AoX3l7xcpJbgosOgMyyL9Hb6xru2XO3YuIYkqjSrSWzir1D_pFqGCyfdk6x2YdYxJQ5m8/s1600/ReadyNASRAID5.jpg" imageanchor="1" marked="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG7ih1H58Jg2uppXh-mbSde8qDKFP6jsBljA3v1aiosTfZwG7dZV2hceDfhMe_ItjxX0m0f5AoX3l7xcpJbgosOgMyyL9Hb6xru2XO3YuIYkqjSrSWzir1D_pFqGCyfdk6x2YdYxJQ5m8/s320/ReadyNASRAID5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Finally, when you add a 3rd or 4th HDD to the system, you end up with a RAID 5 configuration which gives you server level data integrity for your NAS device!<br />
<br />
You also get additional flexibility using X-RAID since you can easily swap out smaller hard drives with larger hard drives and end up with additional storage space on your NAS device depending on your RAID configuration. In either a RAID 1 or RAID 5 configuration, you will need to replace at least 2 existing hard drives for the RAID configuration to "expand" to provide you with more data storage space.<br />
<br />
All in all, if you just need reliable data protection with room to grow and expand your data storage needs, the ReadyNAS is a great device for your home network. However, if you need to migrate to a newer device in the near future, prepare to spend lots and lots of time and money with the overall migration process!!!<br />
<br />
With any luck, Netgear will improve the migration process in the future, but for now, the migration from device-to-device is what is is....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-67702420036881376732016-04-10T18:55:00.003-07:002016-04-10T18:55:31.357-07:00Free version of TeamViewer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently wanted to download and install the FREE version of TeamViewer only to quickly discover that downloading the version of TeamViewer directly from <a href="http://www.teamviewer.com/">http://www.teamviewer.com</a> led to me installing the commercial TRIAL version of the software.<br />
<br />
Therefore, after doing some digging on Google, I finally came across the <b>TRUE FREE</b> version download of TeamViewer which can be downloaded from here: <a href="http://www.teamviewer.com/hi/">http://www.teamviewer.com/hi/</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-43748960804286066142016-02-10T08:57:00.002-08:002016-02-10T08:57:50.829-08:00Free PDF Printing Tools for Windows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are looking for Free PDF Printing tools, there are a good number of tools out there:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>CutePDF Writer: <a href="http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp">http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp</a></li>
<li>PDFCreator: <a href="http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator">http://www.pdfforge.org/pdfcreator</a></li>
<li>PrimoPDF: <a href="http://www.primopdf.com/">http://www.primopdf.com/</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-65284177808648938512016-02-04T13:20:00.000-08:002016-02-04T13:20:01.110-08:0030% discount off of WinRaR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you frequently use a compression tool such as WinRaR, this is a great deal on grabbing a license for this great compression software of 30% off: <a href="https://shop.win-rar.com/16/purl-winrar_tipradar?ClickID=dtzcbnoztmhznmhz2borwowsrchkk0zk0yxy">https://shop.win-rar.com/16/purl-winrar_tipradar?ClickID=dtzcbnoztmhznmhz2borwowsrchkk0zk0yxy</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-65077820222192898612016-01-28T07:23:00.003-08:002016-01-28T07:23:36.834-08:00FTP Server software for Windows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Over the course of several years, I have used numerous FTP Server applications, so I thought I would list them out here:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Serv-U FTP Server: <a href="http://www.serv-u.com/ftp-server">http://www.serv-u.com/ftp-server</a></li>
<li>BulletProof FTP Server: <a href="http://www.bpftpserver.com/">http://www.bpftpserver.com/</a></li>
<li>WS_FTP Server: <a href="http://www.ipswitchft.com/ws-ftp-server">http://www.ipswitchft.com/ws-ftp-server</a></li>
<li>Globalscape EFT Server: <a href="https://www.globalscape.com/managed-file-transfer">https://www.globalscape.com/managed-file-transfer</a></li>
<li>FileZilla FTP Server: <a href="https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server">https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server</a></li>
</ol>
<div>
Out of all of these FTP Server solutions, I definitely prefer Globalscape EFT Server for the greatest set of functionality including a very good API that can be used for automation. Of course, Globalscape EFT Server is also one of the priciest solutions out there as well!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As a second choice, I choose WS_FTP Server, though, it lacks some of the ease-of-use features found in Globalscape EFT Server.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lastly, of the solutions listed here, only FileZilla FTP Server is a free FTP software solution.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-43960104864988063522016-01-19T09:52:00.001-08:002016-02-20T08:36:34.884-08:00Convert M4A Audio Files to MP3 Format<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Many smartphones will record in .m4a audio format, but usually .mp3 format is desired as a more universal audio format.<br />
<br />
Therefore, if you want to convert from .m4a to .mp3, how do you accomplish that?<br />
<br />
In many cases, you can use iTunes to convert .m4a files over to .mp3 files using the information found in this article: <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204310">https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204310</a><br />
<br />
You simply have to add the .m4a file to your iTunes playlist and then right-click the file to <b>"Create MP3 Version"</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
However, in some instances I have discovered that iTunes is unable to properly convert these .m4a files over to .mp3 format. So what do you do in those cases?<br />
<b><br /></b>
Fortunately, there is a software application called MediaHuman Audio Converter which can accomplish that for you!<br />
<br />
You can download MediaHuman Audio Converter from here: <a href="http://www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter/">http://www.mediahuman.com/audio-converter/</a><br />
<br />
You then simply drag and drop your .m4a file into the window and click on the "Convert" button to convert it over to .mp3 format!!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-24291077619797023812016-01-14T21:22:00.000-08:002016-01-14T21:22:02.623-08:00Playback FLV Video files<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are looking for how to playback FLV Video files look no further than VLC Media Player!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html">http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-13696516776184161272016-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:002016-01-03T18:45:07.030-08:00Downloading and converting videos from YouTube and other video streaming sites<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you ever need to download and convert YouTube videos for offline viewing, there are a number of Firefox plug-ins to accomplish this!<br />
<br />
Just search for YouTube on the Firefox add-ons site and you will immediately see a large number of results: <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/">https://addons.mozilla.org</a><br />
<br />
Of course, if you are looking for some desktop software to accomplish the same thing, there are a large number of software vendors that provide this capability with varying degrees of functionality.<br />
<br />
One such software application which I evaluated was WonderShare YouTube Downloader:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wondershare.com/pro/free-youtube-downloader.html">http://www.wondershare.com/pro/free-youtube-downloader.html</a><br />
<br />
WonderShare actually has a FREE version as well as a PAID version called AllMyTube:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wondershare.com/pro/youtube-downloader.html">http://www.wondershare.com/pro/youtube-downloader.html</a><br />
<br />
I went ahead and performed an evaluation of the AllMyTube version and I discovered that while it did a good job of downloading a large number of YouTube videos as well as converting them to MP4 for me, it could not convert a large number of the newer HTML5 format YouTube videos. Therefore, it seemed largely restricted to the older-style Flash Videos available on YouTube. While this certainly covers a large number of videos, it also makes a large number of YouTube videos unavailable for download for offline viewing as well. This, therefore, makes it not much better than any of the available free Firefox plug-in downloaders (at least for YouTube videos).<br />
<br />
However, for streaming sites such as CBS.com, AllMyTube did an excellent job of downloading the videos without all of the advertisements included normally in the video while streaming the video directly from the CBS.com site. AllMyTube also has support for a large number of other streaming video sites as well which come in very handy if you view streaming videos from the list of other supported sites: <a href="http://www.wondershare.com/reference/youtube-downloader.html">http://www.wondershare.com/reference/youtube-downloader.html</a><br />
<br />
Another software application I evaluated was WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe: <a href="http://www.winxdvd.com/hd-video-converter-deluxe/">http://www.winxdvd.com/hd-video-converter-deluxe/</a><br />
<br />
However, as with AllMyTube, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe was not able to handle HTML5 YouTube videos and therefore once again does not offer much benefit over the free Firefox plug-ins.<br />
<br />
Finally, there is the option of YouTube Red: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/red">https://www.youtube.com/red</a><br />
<br />
YouTube Red is a subscription-based service costing around $10/month and supposedly offers the ability to download any of its videos for offline viewing from your phone or tablet. The videos will expire 30 days after they are downloaded, so you will not have a permanent copy for your viewing pleasure, but it may be sufficient for your needs. <br />
<br />
To read more about YouTube Red and if the service is right for you, you can check out this article: <a href="http://www.cnet.com/how-to/youtube-red-details/">http://www.cnet.com/how-to/youtube-red-details/</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-66602949956182773152015-11-23T09:53:00.000-08:002015-11-23T09:53:10.672-08:00CyberPowerPC keyboards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I love CyberPowerPCs and I have recently purchased 2 CyberPowerPCs, however, when I pulled out one of the USB keyboards that shipped with the PC, needless to say, I was not pleased!<br />
<br />
As a developer, I do a tremendous amount of typing and with a typing speed of around 80-100 WPM (words per minute), I need a keyboard that can easily keep up as well as seamlessly fit into my typing style.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the Azza keyboard that ships with CyberPowerPCs do not fit into either of these categories.<br />
<br />
The keyboard is extremely compact and not suitable at all for standard typing. My biggest frustrations with this keyboard is the very, very small backspace key as well as the very small Ctrl and Alt keys. <br />
<br />
For any user that types as much as I do, this keyboard can basically be considered completely useless.<br />
<br />
It would be much nicer if CyberPowerPC shipped some Microsoft keyboards or Logitech keyboards with their PCs, but in lieu of that, suffice it to say, I am sending out my Azza keyboards for recycling and sticking with my comfortable Logitech keyboards and mice!</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-1552235546209945102015-11-22T12:53:00.001-08:002015-11-22T12:53:09.664-08:00Amazon Underground Games<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With the recently released line of Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, I decided to give the new much touted "Amazon Underground" a spin and see what was really meant by "actually free" games. Amazon advertises this feature as games that actually have free in-app purchases, lending new meaning to "free games".<br />
<br />
Currently, free games means that the game is "free", but still charges for any in-app purchases that are made, thus leading the end-user/consumer to believe that the game is free but with hidden charges/purchases.<br />
<br />
However, Amazon Underground now labels their games as "Actually Free" when you visit the Amazon Underground.<br />
<br />
I tried out one of the Amazon Underground "Actually Free" games that I have played for a long time called Frozen Free Fall.<br />
<br />
Well, much to my surprise, Amazon was not lying about being "actually free"!<br />
<br />
When I first launched Frozen Free Fall, I was immediately awarded a large number of snowballs and ice crystal and ice picks before I even began playing. In addition, all of the upper levels from the Seasons and Frozen Fever were also completely unlocked! <br />
<br />
When I browsed through a few more Amazon Underground games in the Amazon App Store, I was surprised to find several more expensive games such as Mickey Mouse's Castle of Illusions labeled as "Actually Free"!<br />
<br />
I am really enjoying the Amazon Underground feature of "Actually Free" applications since it makes using the Amazon Kindle Fire as a much more enjoyable tablet for gaming vs. Android and iPad tablets which do not have this feature and still rely heavily on Free games with in-app purchasing.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, when it comes to playing games on a tablet, I will stick to the Amazon Kindle Fire!!</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-41391486258575241002015-11-02T19:32:00.002-08:002015-11-02T19:32:50.741-08:00Amazon Fire TV vs. Google Nexus Player<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are looking for an affordable Gaming Console, then you might consider either the Amazon Fire TV or the Google Nexus Player.<br />
<br />
First, we'll take a look at the Amazon Fire TV: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/dp/B00U3FPN4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446520957&sr=8-1&keywords=fire+tv">http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/dp/B00U3FPN4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446520957&sr=8-1&keywords=fire+tv</a><br />
<br />
The Amazon Fire TV just released a new version which now includes support for Alexa which was originally shipped with Amazon Echo. Alexa is Amazon's form of voice recognition software which allows you to perform a wide variety of operations from playing music to hearing about the weather, news reports or even jokes. The other major update to the Amazon Fire TV is the newly added support for an optional microSD card which supports up to 128GB of storage. <br />
<br />
The main limiting factor for the Amazon Fire TV then becomes the lack of good, affordable games in the Amazon App Store. This is definitely the greatest drawback to the Amazon Fire TV. If Amazon were to make Google Play Store apps available to the Amazon Fire TV, purchasing the Fire TV would be a complete no-brainer.<br />
<br />
Next up, is the Google Nexus Player: <a href="https://www.google.com/nexus/player/">https://www.google.com/nexus/player/</a><br />
<br />
The Google Nexus Player has many of the same features as the Amazon Fire TV with the main difference being that it runs a native version of Android thus offering full support for the Google Play store. In addition, it is much cheaper than the Amazon Fire TV with a cost of only $49. <a href="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-nexus-player-streaming-media-console-black/2445015.p?id=1219542308629&skuId=2445015">http://www.bestbuy.com/site/google-nexus-player-streaming-media-console-black/2445015.p?id=1219542308629&skuId=2445015</a><br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the major thing it lacks is the optional microSD card to expand the total memory storage on the device. Even devices such as the Roku offer an optional microSD card for their streaming device. The lack of microSD card is a major fail on Google's part. The Google Nexus player only ships with 8 GB of memory, so if you are installing any particularly large games, you will have to uninstall them rather quickly in order to install newer games (the same limitation existed with the earlier version of the Amazon Fire TV as well).<br />
<br />
In this comparison, there is no clear winner for Gaming Consoles since both the Amazon Fire TV and the Google Nexus player have severe drawbacks in the design of their systems. If you are looking for the widest variety of available games, then the Google Nexus Player is definitely the console of choice.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-28823643399174184362015-11-02T19:15:00.004-08:002015-11-02T19:15:45.060-08:00Amazon Kindle Fire vs. Barnes & Noble Nook vs Google Nexus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I started researching new Android-based tablets for myself and I ended up comparing these 3 main Android tablets:<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Amazon Kindle Fire</li>
<li>Barnes & Noble Nook</li>
<li>Google Nexus</li>
</ol>
First up, the Amazon Kindle Fire: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S5HFVGI/ref=fs_ods_fs_tab_ms">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00S5HFVGI/ref=fs_ods_fs_tab_ms</a><br />
<br />
I have been a long-time Amazon Kindle Fire user and they are great tablets overall. However, these are 2 major cons of these tablets that I have found over the years:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They did not have expandable memory options through use of an optional microSD card</li>
<li>They did not support native Android apps from the Google Play store. The apps found in the Amazon Kindle store are still much more limited than the Google Play store.</li>
</ul>
Well, the latest version of the Amazon Kindle Fire addresses one of these 2 concerns by adding support for an optional microSD card. This is a great selling point for the new Kindle Fire as well as the reduced cost of only $49 to buy a Kindle Fire with a 7" screen!<br />
<br />
Next up, the Barnes & Noble Nook: <a href="http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/samsung-galaxy-tab-4-nook-tablet/379004262">http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/samsung-galaxy-tab-4-nook-tablet/379004262</a><br />
<br />
I bought the Barnes & Noble Nook when they first came out with the Nook Color and the only reason I really bought it was its support for the ePub format as well as the optional microSD card which allowed me to expand its memory.<br />
<br />
The new Barnes & Noble Nooks are a significant upgrade from the Nook Color by offering Samsung-based tablets that not only continue to have the optional microSD card but also have support for the Google Play store!<br />
<br />
In addition, Barnes & Noble is now offering incentives to trade-in old Tablet devices towards credit for a brand new Nook! <a href="http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/trade-in-your-nook/379004337?cds2Pid=49746">http://nook.barnesandnoble.com/u/trade-in-your-nook/379004337?cds2Pid=49746</a><br />
<br />
That is a pretty great incentive to trade up to the Barnes & Noble Nook in my opinion. <br />
<br />
Finally, there is the Google Nexus tablet: <a href="https://www.google.com/nexus/9/">https://www.google.com/nexus/9/</a><br />
<br />
It is the only tablet among the 3 listed tablets which does not have support for an optional microSD card making it an expensive and severely limiting tablet. However, since it is Google's own creation, it ensures that everything from the Google Play store will work on it as well as always have support for the latest versions of Android.<br />
<br />
If you are an Android user that wants the best of both worlds (Google Play store and tons of storage memory), I would definitely choose the new Barnes & Noble Nook. However, if you are satisfied with the limited selection of Amazon Kindle apps provided in the Amazon Kindle App Store, the Amazon Kindle Fire will definitely be a much nicer tablet to use overall.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-63524417189635937662015-10-21T01:41:00.000-07:002015-10-21T01:41:07.808-07:00Free TurboTax W-4 Calculator<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are filling out paperwork for a new job and you want to determine your required withholding based on your current income level, you will definitely want to take advantage of the TurboTax W-4 Withholding Calculator: <a href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/</a><br />
<br />
<br />This online calculator allows you to enter both your and your spouse's pay as well as a number of other factors such as your number of children as well as how much you pay for child care expenses etc. <br />
<br />
Based on this information, the online W-4 Calculator can provide you with the necessary information to specify your correct withholding on your W-4 Tax Forms!<br />
<br />
How cool is that??</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-60470937685894055772015-10-21T01:19:00.002-07:002015-10-21T01:19:49.530-07:00Free TurboTax Tax Calculator<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you have used TurboTax in the past, you may know that new versions are released towards the end of each year.<br />
<br />
However, if you do not want to wait until the end of the year to determine how much you currently owe on taxes, you will find it handy to know that TurboTax has a free online Tax Calculator that allows you to estimate how much you may owe on taxes: <a href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/index.jsp?cid=all_cjtto-2278782_int&priorityCode=3468341816&SID=">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/index.jsp?cid=all_cjtto-2278782_int&priorityCode=3468341816&SID=</a><br />
<br />
This is particularly important for business owners that may need to calculate their taxes to ensure they have sufficient deductions as they approach the end of the year. If the taxes owed are too high, they can plan accordingly to spend their existing reserves to increase their overall deductions.<br />
<br />
While the online Tax Calculator can certainly not compare with the full version of TurboTax, it is certainly very helpful and useful in planning your budgets and expenses based on taxes owed throughout the course of the year!!</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-41666976443734208182015-07-11T18:06:00.001-07:002015-07-11T18:06:07.493-07:00Resetting the Parental Controls Password on an Amazon Kindle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently forgot how to get into the Parental Controls on my Kindle and needed to reset the Parental Controls password without having to factory default the Kindle device.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, I found this article which described exactly how to reset the Parental Controls password with very little hassle: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201590690">http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201590690</a></div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-36738532727517609742015-06-30T11:02:00.002-07:002015-06-30T11:02:33.187-07:00Questions to ask before signing up for an Internet Service Provider<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are thinking of joining an Internet Service Provider or are thinking of switching to a different service provider, here are some questions you should definitely ask before signing up:<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>What Internet speeds do you offer? What is the highest Internet speed offered in my area?</li>
<li>Do you require any type of contract or long-term commitment?</li>
<li>If I terminate my contract early, are there are any termination fees?</li>
<li>Are there any installation charges?</li>
<li>Are there any equipment fees?</li>
<li>What are the prices for using bundled vs. non-bundled services?</li>
<li>If the pricing is offered during a promotional period, what will my prices be after the promotional period is over?</li>
<li>Are there any service charges for technician visits to my home?</li>
<li>How much are taxes and other regulatory fees? </li>
<li>What is the total cost per month including all taxes and regulatory fees?</li>
<li>Can I purchase my own cable modem/router?</li>
<li>Do you have any QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees?</li>
<li>Do you bundle any software packages (such as antivirus) as part of the service?</li>
<li>For bundled services with TV:</li>
<ul>
<li>What channels do you offer?</li>
<li>Do you offer a whole-home DVR?</li>
<li>Are the channels in HD?</li>
<li>Do you offer On-Demand broadcasting?</li>
<li>Do you offer Internet viewing of the TV channels?</li>
<li>Are there any networks not offered as part of the TV package?</li>
<li>What are the equipment charges for additional TVs?</li>
<li>Do I have to pay extra for each TV that has HD TV service? </li>
<li>How many recording hours can be fit on a DVR?</li>
<li>How many shows/channels can I record simultaneously on the DVR?</li>
<li>Is the TV service dependent on an Internet connection?</li>
</ul>
</ol>
</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-64059098746563649212015-05-21T07:25:00.000-07:002015-05-24T18:27:00.096-07:00Home Design Software<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was recently looking for some Home Design Software after watching several episodes of "The Property Brothers" and these are some of the options that I found:<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Punch! Home Design: <a href="http://www.punchsoftware.com/c-11-home-design.aspx?gclid=CLv4w_6D08UCFYZAaQodqCkA8Q">http://www.punchsoftware.com/c-11-home-design.aspx?gclid=CLv4w_6D08UCFYZAaQodqCkA8Q</a></li>
<li>HGTV Home Design Software: <a href="http://www.homedesignsoftware.tv/ppc/products/HGTV-Ultimate-Home-Design-with-Landscaping-and-Decks-3/?rs2=4218&preflanguage=5&rs=57&rs4=HGTV_US_GOOG_0214&cc=HGTVPPC&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4fCqBRDM1ZKhk5jfo6IBEiQAZQ97OA3eiLboMxyxMHtw1ys6Q43oT5pNTOmiXOdh8CJ1NfEaAtFj8P8HAQ">http://www.homedesignsoftware.tv/ppc/products/HGTV-Ultimate-Home-Design-with-Landscaping-and-Decks-3/?rs2=4218&preflanguage=5&rs=57&rs4=HGTV_US_GOOG_0214&cc=HGTVPPC&</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.homedesignsoftware.tv/ppc/buy/?cc=HGTVPPC&rs4=HGTV_US_PPC_0115&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyoCrBRCl-aa97pKX_t8BEiQAbrs_9B0oWDH1gM4qosefFb6lKXuh4DJtcymsa5Erlmy4LTEaAsAk8P8HAQ">http://www.homedesignsoftware.tv/ppc/buy/?cc=HGTVPPC&rs4=HGTV_US_PPC_0115&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyoCrBRCl-aa97pKX_t8BEiQAbrs_9B0oWDH1gM4qosefFb6lKXuh4DJtcymsa5Erlmy4LTEaAsAk8P8HAQ</a> </li>
<li>gclid=Cj0KEQjw4fCqBRDM1ZKhk5jfo6IBEiQAZQ97OA3eiLboMxyxMHtw1ys6Q43oT5pNTOmiXOdh8CJ1NfEaAtFj8P8HAQ</li>
<li>Home Designer Suite: <a href="https://homedesigner.chiefarchitect.com/">https://homedesigner.chiefarchitect.com/</a></li>
</ol>
They all look pretty good options with the Punch! Home Design and HGTV Home Design options being the most affordable of the 3. Punch! Home Design offers some additional content packs which offer additional items to include as part of the options which the other 2 do not seem to offer.<br />
<br />
I am hoping to try these in the near future so you can check back for a review of these various software packages and see how they compare!! </div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-59970922189630710032015-05-21T07:19:00.001-07:002015-05-21T07:19:08.844-07:00Vonage outgoing ring tone problem and ARRIS Modem<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently switched my Internet Service Provider (ISP) from AT & T to Wide Open West (WOW!) which switched my modem from 2WIRE to an ARRIS DG860 modem.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, a side effect or consequence of this change was that my Vonage service immediately began experiencing problems namely that I could no longer hear a ring tone on outgoing calls.<br />
<br />
After hours of speaking with 2 different Vonage customer support representatives, I did not figure out that the ARRIS modem has a firewall setting which disrupts my Vonage VOIP service. Therefore, I decided to turn off my firewall settings as depicted below on my ARRIS modem to see if I could get it to resume normal Vonage operation and instead rely on my Vonage VPortal firewall settings to protect me from external attackers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4RYzhApfCf_ZfSv_tV1xNaO95rha7C6QAfXH01Naseku-8B1q2GK21vR_2ED1mBJBr2m3liM7vr_n9UJsuCFpELT3tW-1DrI2a4oaoumWlhTEDKHmdb4ULERThHRZ9X1fgKCinskdmg/s1600/ArrisModem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4RYzhApfCf_ZfSv_tV1xNaO95rha7C6QAfXH01Naseku-8B1q2GK21vR_2ED1mBJBr2m3liM7vr_n9UJsuCFpELT3tW-1DrI2a4oaoumWlhTEDKHmdb4ULERThHRZ9X1fgKCinskdmg/s320/ArrisModem.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Once I disabled my ARRIS modem firewall settings, of course my Vonage service returned to normal operation!</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6164955892006232703.post-4223748285177746812015-05-21T07:17:00.002-07:002015-05-21T07:17:54.067-07:00ReadyNAS Support Users BEWARE!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As the owner of several Netgear ReadyNAS devices, I use them
frequently. However, I am extremely disappointed with how many times I
have to contact support for issues that I experience with my ReadyNAS
(particularly the newer ReadyCloud/ReadyNAS OS 6 devices).<br />
<br />
I
recently ran into an issue which prevented me from accessing the Web
Administration console and I was requested to agree to this support
policy: <a href="http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20932/%7E/netgear-remote-access-policy" target="_blank">http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20932/~/netgear-remote-access-policy</a><br />
<br />
If
you read the support policy, you will see that this is the most high
risk support agreement I have ever read in my LIFE!! It basically
removes all liability of wrongdoing from the Netgear Support Technicians
and offers no compensation if some or all of your data is lost from the
device!! The whole reason I bought the ReadyNAS device was to prevent
the loss of data and now you are asking me to consent to letting a
support tech potentially <b>DESTROY ALL MY DATA</b>!! There was no way in a million years that I would consent to such a thing.<br />
<br />
As
you can probably guess, a bit later on I encountered an issue which
prevented me from writing to any of my home folders on the ReadyNAS
device. Once again Netgear Support could offer no other solution than
asking me to sign the very invasive support policy in order to
troubleshoot it further. Of course, since I did not agree to it before,
I was not about to agree to it the next time they asked.<br />
<br />
In any case, I would have to say I am very, very <b>EXTREMELY</b>
disappointed with the new ReadyCloud OS 6 devices. Netgear certainly
had the right idea but the execution of the whole unit was very poorly
done. To compound the issue, this support policy provides absolutely no
protection to the customer making the support agreements for these
devices essentially <b>USELESS</b>.</div>
ssvaidyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13726468351983259823noreply@blogger.com0