If you have
any suggestions for our times or improvement to our segments please contact the Weekend or Nightlife
producers in the next few weeks.
Nightlife, nationally
on ABC Local Radio
The next
Nightlife spot is Tuesday, December 25 at
10.15pm and we'll be explaining how to choose the
right Internet plan.
702 Sydney Weekends
We don't have
any dates confirmed for the Weekend show over the summer
break. We will be doing some and we'll advise newsletter
subscribers as soon as we know the dates.
If you'd
like to call, or offer any suggestions about the shows,
please contact
us.
Books
Who says you can't
get a good computer manual? Our Dummies books are now available online.
If you want to learn more about your computer, we have the
answers.
Our website,
IT Queries answers
common computer problems.
If your
computer is has a frustrating problem, have a look for an
answer at our site.
If you don't
find one, just ask on the IT Queries site and we'll get
a solution for you.
As
well as our IT Queries website we also have two blogs commentating
on current issues.
Cranky
Tech is where we vent our spleens
on issues relating to IT support and small business.
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Microsoft
Office confusion
It's hard not to come to the
conclusion that the main aim of Microsoft's
business is to confuse customers. Not content with
five different versions of Vista, they have THIRTEEN
different versions of Microsoft Office available. We discuss
the differences between the different versions on
the website.
It's
useful to understand the differences as the right choice
can give you big price savings. For instance the Academic
Edition of Office Professional is 60% cheaper, being a saving
of $500. On the other hand if you make the wrong choice,
you could end up having to buy another version or, much
worse, being accused of software piracy.
Generally
the cheapest versions are for academic users, home
users qualify for this if someone in the household
is a student. If you want to use Office in a business
then you have to buy the most expensive version.
Business
users should also keep in mind that using academic
or home editions for commercial use is a breach of the licence
and can result in hefty fines and damages.
We try to make sense of this
on the website. If you are still confused (and who
isn't) contact your local IT guy or computer shop for
more advice. Of course, you
can always ditch Microsoft Office and use an alternative.
Transistors
turn sixty
The one
device that's responsible for all of this qualifies for a Seniors Card this week. Without
the transistor, we wouldn't have a fraction of the technology
we know take for granted. Still, vacuum tubes can look better.
Jargon
Watch: Beta software
In
the modern computing world there's
an almost infinite number of combinations of software
and equipment people use on their computers.
This
makes testing computer software extremely difficult as
no company can predict exactly what their customers will
do with the product. To overcome this, software companies
release a test edition called a Beta
version.
The idea is people will
test the product in their home or office and report back
any bugs they find. It's
like Holden giving you a
new Commodore for free on the understanding you'll tell
them if the brakes don't work.
Running beta software is strictly for computer
geeks, IT techs and people who like to fiddle with
their computers. Normal people should avoid Beta software
like the plague.
In the last
fortnight Microsoft have announced the beta releases
of service packs for
Windows Vista and Windows XP.
While we are
genuinely waiting with bated breath for both of these
to be released, we recommend you don't install the test
versions. So why are service packs so important?
Microsoft
service packs
One
of the constants in the IT industry is that technology is
always changing. It means products have to be constantly
updated and that presents a big challenge for software companies.
Microsoft partly manage this by releasing service packs.
A service
pack is a big package
of all the recent updates to a program bundled together. Usually Microsoft take the
opportunity to improve
things that don't work quite right.
This latter point is why we recommend you
wait until the first service pack of any Microsoft product
is released. Otherwise you're buying a bunch of bugs as
many Vista users have found.
Both Windows Vista and XP will have service
packs out before Easter. The first Vista service pack will
flag the time to consider Vista. For XP users, the exceptional and disgraceful
three years it's taken to get a new service pack out
mean this one will be essential.
Computer recycling
Green
IT will be one of the big issues in 2008 and we'll be discussing
this extensively over next year. Recycling of old equipment
is only part of the bigger picture, saving power, paper
and other consumables is another issue. One of the big questions
is how we can extend the lives of existing equipment.
Why passwords
are like underwear
1. Change
yours often.
2. Don't leave it lying around.
3. Don't share yours with anyone else.
4. The longer the better.
5. Be mysterious.
Securing your
wireless network
We've
warned for many years that it's important to secure your
wireless network. A
recent police arrest shows just how dangerous unsecured
wireless networks can be. Basically it allows the bad guys
to use your network to do their dirty deeds, which means
you get the knock on the door when the police come looking.
You should
make sure your network has a minimum of WPA security enabled
on it. We discuss this in detail
on the website and you should take this seriously. If
you don't understand how to do it, call in a tech.
Coming
up on the website
All the
topics in this newsletter are currently on, or will
soon be on, the website.
If you have any suggestions, comments or have spotted one
of our numerous errors, let us know.
Regards,
Paul
Wallbank
If
you wish to unsubscribe, please send a message to unsubscribe@pcrescue.com.au
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