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It is a little known fact that laptops pose a risk to health. Toshiba helped to prove that fact when they sold dangerous laptops to customers around the world. On September 2, 2010 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. found out that 129 people who bought their new laptop got injured from using. Built in China, someone over there messed up and did not take enough time to insure the laptop with the proper parts, resulting in 41,000 laptops being recalled because they burned things. Nice, a pyro-laptop-maniac!

This raises an interesting question: are laptops the best choice for your personal needs or business?

Yes, laptops are easy to access being portable so if you are always on the move, they are the right choice. That is the first advantage of laptops, because they beat desktops in the category of versatility. Portable means they can go anywhere, while the desktop stays on the desk, and in today’s world laptops are becoming the new desktop. But there are disadvantages that you might want to know about.

Ever heard of Repetitive Strain Injury? Most people have, it is when you type on the flat keyboard of a laptop for a long period of time and is like carpal tunnel syndrome. Be careful typing for long hours at the office or home on the laptop. In fact, I am on my laptop right now and I have been typing on this flat keyboard for over an hour. I feel some constricting pain in my wrists and short bursts of pain in my right arm, but that could be from anything.

When Toshiba recalled those laptops, the injuries were minor burns and property damage. A study done with men aged 21 to 25 revealed a scary fact: putting the laptop on the lap actually raises the temperature of your testicles in your scrotum. I know, I cringed too. Another fact, I had to move the laptop from my lap to a table while writing this blog, better safe than sterile!

To solve the problem of overheating get a cooling fan.

But this is often not enough, the durability of laptops is not up to par with desktops because they lack the necessary filtering of dust. After a while, so much dust collects in the cooling system that it overheats and becomes loud with bad noises over time. In order to clean the inside it requires a complete disassembly of the laptop. Quite a pain in the ass.

Another downer is the battery life in laptops. The way to preserve battery is to run the battery down all the way then recharge it to get the full life. But, most people do not do this resulting in batteries that last only an hour. Do not leave the battery in while the laptop is plugged in, take it out so you do not ruin the battery.

Laptops are easy to let fall into disrepair by not taking care of them. Laptops are a great invention and make life a lot easier since they allow any business to travel with you everywhere. But they are susceptible to easy mistakes and easy pitfalls which will turn your laptop into a craptop if you are not careful.

It seems we have been settling for less in the world of wireless connections. All this time we could have been speeding as fast as cable modems on WiFi. Last September the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) made important steps to freeing up space that is not being used called “white space”; the airwaves between broadcast television.

What this means is the ‘limited access’ connection you have outside Starbucks or any other source of public WiFi? No more, the “white space” would be opened up for wireless broadband connections that would create the Super WiFi hero. This hero has super powers that penetrate through walls, have a large capacity to cover more areas, and can take on a lot more networks.

Brian Connors, president of the oldest electromagnetic compatibility consulting firm in New England, called Connors Company, said in an interview:

“Think of the frequency of a whale, it’s sound can travel incredibly long distances across the ocean because it is a low frequency. In the EM spectrum high frequency and low frequency are in the millions and billions of cycles per second. So if you put WiFi on a low frequency, the information can travel like a whale’s call through walls!”

The Commission announced it’s big National Broadband Plan in hopes to entice investor’s to jump on board. The future is uncertain, but WiFi is already the most used connection to access the internet, so it is easy to see the great potential for this new technology to grow and become as common as T.V.’s are in every household.

Even rural areas will be covered. A test system was recently built in a town where they still used dial-up and had to pay big bucks for satellite broadband. They were in the dark ages until Super WiFi came and brought fast as light!

Regular WiFi uses 2.4GHz radio frequency .With the use of lower frequency white spaces between television channel frequencies, the signal can travel much further than the regular.

This solves the major problem regular WiFi has: short range. I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to access a certain WiFi hot spot, times when I am in a hurry and need to check a site, and was unable due to a weak connection. The possibilities of a WiFi on steroids are endless.

One major possibility is a link to disaster zones. Suppose those of us who live on the East Coast get washed away after global warming melts the ice caps. Those of us floating all with out smartphones or iPads still intact will be able to communicate with rescue efforts to be saved! Another possibility is a home wireless network, where video can be sent between the television and computer. A North Carolina company that is testing out the Super WiFi is using the white space to send live feeds from traffic and surveillance cameras.

The future of wireless communications is getting better and better. With this National Broadband Plan we will be seeing new technologies come out that use the capability of Super WiFi to reach more people, connect more devices, and make life seem like a wireless world of wonder!

If you are new to the Geek Choice Blogs, then you are in for an awakening, as this blog is where you can come for the TRUTH. We are hit with information as soon as we wake up and it lasts all day until we go unconscious. This can lead to health problems, as well as bad habits, so at this blog we try to alleviate the symptoms by cutting out all the B.S. and getting down to the facts.

The fact is that leaving your PC unprotected, or relying on some third rate anti-virus program, is not just unsafe it is down right ignorant. Microsoft has released a security tool for everyone to use, oh boy! Is it what you need during these times of dangerous, unsecured websites, drive-by attacks by hackers, and malicious downloads that you don’t even know is happening?

Microsoft Security Essentials, the new free anti-virus software that replaces Windows Live OneCare which costs money and only protected against adware and spyware, is available for all. It will protect you from not just these two attacks, but also from rootkits, malware, viruses, and Trojans. It goes back to Windows xp, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. But there is some drawbacks here that are significant enough to complain about.

The first is that you need a computer that has a valid license to run Windows. This leaves a whole slew of companies with their computers unaccepted thus unprotected. By throwing this software into as many computers as they can, which is Microsoft’s aim, to give freely of what they found to be a “super” deal. Do not be too sure.

Think if this anti-virus program made up the majority of protection for millions of people with computers. Green light for hackers, red light for you. By trying to be altruistic Microsoft seems to have mixed motives. Maybe if this software was perfect in every way and made life worry free, then we wouldn’t have to explain the truth to you: Microsoft is looking out for themselves, the selfish company.

It is interesting how all these anti-virus competitor companies such as McAfee, Symantec, and Norton dismiss Microsoft Security Essentials as being insignificant compared to their programs. Yet their shares have fallen drastically since the release of MSE in July of 2009 when they released the beta. Who is right? Who is wrong? It seems the war against viruses has turned inward and now a battle for supremacy over who is the most protecting has taken over. What about us?

If you are looking for the right anti-virus program, I urge you to test each one out. Try Microsoft Security Essentials, see how it fits with your system. Do not take the word of any blog, article, or anyone who tells you that their software is the best. The world we live in is hostile, so take the right actions to prevent your personal and business life from being invaded.

These anti-virus programs all work. It is just a matter of scanning for the truth and quarantining the lies.

On and on it goes, updates to better and faster versions of an already decent web browser from Google. Chrome is what homies would call “Bling Bling”, or “Fresh”, since right now it is rising to the top with all the new gear. Just what is the new gear, and how does it apply to your life?

That is exactly what Geek Choice Blogs is here for: to answer any of those perplexing questions that you might have concerning your personal computer, laptop, or hand-held device. Right now there are a lot of new and exciting innovations coming out for web browsers, so we do not want you to miss out on the opportunity to learn about some of them.

Google actually hired several Firefox developers and built the first version of Chrome, impressing even the founder, Eric Schmidt, who was hesitant to enter the ongoing “browser wars” between Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera. Google seems to be the one who jumps in front of the others in the action line, coming out with ideas from browsers like Firefox first. For instance, the graphical user interface which created the name “Chrome”, integrates the search and the address bar together to form a very easy to use interface.

The aim of every browser is to be fast, simple, and secure. Which does it the best? Let’s look at the record.

Chrome went through all the acid tests, 100 or so tests that are measured almost like the colors of a real acid test with litmus paper. Google passed all three with good colors, this is important to see as it gives us the truth about a browser that will not fail us.

Chrome certainly does not fail us on speed. Using a V8 engine, it revs up very fast power to surf the net, with the V8 JavaScript engine. In a speed test in 2008, Google flew by Firefox 3.0, two times faster with the V8 engine. Google did not stop there, they went even farther with SquirrelFish Extreme, marking a 36% improvement in speed over the V8 JavaScript Engine. Wow.

Enough jargon for today.

Basically, Google Chrome seems to be the one coming out with all the new toys and trinkets for web browsing. They started the “pages” idea, if you use Chrome then you notice how on the start page it is not just one page, it is all the ones you have visited most in the past. A pretty cool feature, making life using email and other jobs simple.

Now, for the headliner: Chrome 8. Right now it is in the experimental stages, so do not go searching the world wide web for the full version, as it does not exist yet. But guaranteed you will be impressed at the new features.

A search-as-you-type feature is something that goes along with the address bar as a search tool. What else? The searches are scanned by AVG! Talk about secure and safe, as well as useful. Typing a single letter will turn up a bunch of sites that are most related to it. It is like Java on steroids! No more having to wait 10 seconds for a search page to load, those days are in the past, welcome to the super-information highway.

Also in the new Chrome 8 there is the Cloud Printing feature, which allows you to print to your home printer from anywhere. Chrome just makes like easy.

So we have covered the aims that browsers need to meet the standards: fast, simple, and secure. What about better? Yes, we will see how Google Chrome battles it’s way to the top becoming “King of the Browser Mountain”.

Yes, you have started to hear no doubt about the holidays and all it’s wonderful magic. No doubt you have also heard about being safe, usually in reference to too much drinking at those awkwardly awful family parties and the weather. But at Geek Choice we want to key you in on more important matters: your computer safety.

How safe is your computer? If you use the internet you take the risk of catching a virus, like the cold it can be prevented if you take certain steps. No I am not talking about downloading the latest anti-virus software or the cool new tool that can fly around your computer like superman saving your files from the evil file corrupter.

I am talking about what is already on your computer, like your web browser whether that be Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome, that have the tools you need to protect yourself. You can find these tools in the ‘Tools’ menu bar located at the top of your browser. Look at ‘options’ on Firefox or ‘security zones’ on Internet Explorer. By telling your browser exactly what type of sites it is allowed to visit and the level of restriction, you are ensuring that you will be protected from spyware, unwanted advertisements, and those “drive-by” downloads.

You may have heard recently that there was a big “drive-by” attack that hackers did on IE6. What happened was that hackers were able to get into a certain website and make links using the sites name to another website, which people visited, and got screwed because just by being on the site malicious software and viruses were downloaded to people’s computers.They are still doing it on IE8, so be careful.

That is just one example of how easy it is for hackers to get into your system, simply by taking over a website and waiting for a user to walk aimlessly into the site, unaware that they will be regretting not listening to this blog and taking the necessary steps to prevent such a thing!

One of these steps involves securing your email, particularly in Outlook. A common pitfall that is easily overlooked is the text. You have two choices: HTML-Text, or Plain Text, which is better? It is not a question of better, but safer. HTML might look good, but in the long run it is dangerous because this is where all those phishing scams thrive on. By using Plain Text it disables the Active Content that opens email attachments automatically, and allows safer emailing.

Instant Messaging worms have become more and more vicious and prevalent in today’s internet world. Be careful when talking with your friends online, be wary of ‘Away’ messages, because if you are chatting with someone who sent you a malicious worm or virus masquerading as a link somewhere infected you could be in for a bad time. You can usually tell when a message like in email that is suspicious.

Hackers are always looking for new ways to get into your computer and screw things up. Do not allow them to, especially during the holidays when you should be out gallivanting around with your family enjoying the holiday spirit.

Flash Drives, or SSD (Solid-State Drives as they are not commonly known) have become one of the best ways to transfer information from on computer to another. It is so simple, you plug in this little piece of plastic with a USB connector into the proper receptacle on the desktop or laptop, and presto there are your saved files, reports, presentations, and homework papers.

SSD’s are like HDD’s or Hard Disk Drives in the sense that they are a data storage unit. The difference is that it is not a disk, but a microchip. This makes data storage more durable, as it is encased in plastic it can withstand shock and temperature damage, it also provides a longer life as it does not need batteries . SSD’s became popular in the military in the 90′s for it’s fast and reliable use when dealing with enemies and missions.

Flash Drive got the name for it’s ability to erase with the speed that of a camera’s flash.

It has become widely used by students today. They are the perfect tool for getting the homework, research papers, and essays done on time. It makes the student’s life easier because they can do the work out on their laptop or desktop at home, save it to the Flash Drive, and bring it to school to print it out.

They used to be costly to buy, now they are only $10 to $15 dollars depending  on how much memory you buy. They go as low as 4GB and get up to 16GB.

Protection

One thing that is a drawback of the Flash Drive is it’s vulnerability to viruses and malicious software, or mal-ware. For example, when you save the work you did all night, the last night before it is due, and take it to school to print out. Sure, when you save it on YOUR computer it is free of any viruses, but you do not know what kind of mischief is lingering on the school computers. Chances are they are filled with crap just waiting for a USB Flash Drive to plug in so they can invade it. Say goodbye to that hard worked, procrastinated paper. Those worms that squirm around computers that are unsafe can ruin you just by plugging in your Flash Drive.

So how can you protect yourself from this threat?

Download this free anti-virus software that can scan for viruses within Flash Drives here. By doing this you ensure that your work will be safe, because you can run system checks to see if has any potential viruses before you plug it back into your home computer. That is the last thing you need, a worm working it’s way through every computer that you put your dirty little Flash Drive in.

Another little tip to top the virus trick can be downloaded free here, this will make sure that when you plug in your Flash Drive that it won’t immediately jump out and start screwing up. By disabling the Autorun file, you will have to open it manually, but if that is the price to pay for being safe? Take it.

They do not call it the “World Wide Web” for nothing. It is a spider-web, and it is world wide the information that is about you and is out there for everyone to see, if they really wanted to. The spider on the web is anyone who searches your name using different programs or services provided online, and it is amazing what comes up.

Say someone wants to know what you are up to. By tracking the electronic foot prints left behind by email, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or even just account activity, they can learn a lot about you in a short amount of time, about the time it takes to load a page. The world of today where there are no walls and information is out there flying around can be a dangerous one, if you are not careful.

The information that is out there can be grabbed by people search engines like Pipl, Spokeo, and CVGadget. It is not illegal, they are doing nothing wrong in the eyes of the internet police, but it does invade our privacy even if the information is out for people to see. It is like putting your dirty laundry out in front of the house, even clothes with small stains, the fact remains that our personal stuff can be easily accessed by anyone. Creepy.

So what can you do about it?

Put a stop to the mountain of information on you that is being collected by these search engines as you read this. First check out for yourself how much is out there by searching your name. Rapleaf is a provider with an open tool to let you see everything, while the other search engines only let you see bits and pieces. By going to that site you can actually manage what people see about you. No more spying from your ex-girlfriend or boyfriend, no more parental espionage, no more privacy pillaging! By ‘Opting-out’ on Rapleaf’s website, you can permanently delete all that saved information that Rapleaf has on you.

Another way to stop prying eyes is to adjust the privacy settings. This means going to all the sites connected to your email address and changing them individually

• Amazon: Wish Lists are made public by default. To change that setting, go to this page and select the option to sign in. You can then view any Wish Lists associated with your account and designate them as private.
• Facebook: Once signed in, look under the ‘Settings’ tab at the top of the page to find the privacy control panel. Click the Profile option to set parameters regarding who can view your content.
• MySpace: Click the My Account button at the top of the page after logging in, then click Privacy to adjust your settings. Bear in mind that your age and location are typically displayed publicly even if your profile is set as private, as was the case in one of the examples cited in “They Know Your Dark Secrets…And Tell Anyone.”
• Pandora: Your playlists are public unless you specify otherwise. Once logged in, click Account at the top of the page, and then follow the option to edit your profile info. From there, you’ll see a checkbox that you can select to make your profile (and thus your playlists) private.

By doing this, you prevent search from sites like Pipl and Spokeo from getting into your private information like what music you like, who your girl or boyfriend is, where you live, the list goes on and on. Take back control of your privacy. Don’t let weirdo’s or people who do not need to see your personal life get the best of you. Who knows what people will do with information like that. You can protect your privacy even when you are on the web, these are ways to catch those spiders crawling around looking for trouble.

A new internet browser has hit the scene of an already crowded stage. It goes by the name of Rockmelt, and it is a change from the regular browser scheme. What Rockmelt does is use your Facebook ID to log onto the browser, anywhere in the world, and allow you to surf the net faster and easier. Behind the stage of internet browsers is the maker of Netscape. Has everyone forgot about this guy? Well he is back, and it sounds like better than ever.

The future is here. Rockmelt is here to reinvent the web. The primary purpose of Rockmelt is making the browser able to keep up with your friends, consume information, and search faster. It works on Windows and Mac’s right now for desktops and laptops. A Beta version is being released today, you can download it at rockmelt.com. If you go to the site, you will see an icon asking if you would like to be ‘Invited’ to use Rockmelt. Wow, it looks like this new browser is V.I.P. status, and you get on the list until they are  ready to let you in.

What is cool is that the CEO of Netscape, Marc Andreeson who helped start the Netscape Communications Corp., is fighting back against the same web browsers that put him out of business. He is doing that by funding these two men who founded Rockmelt, Eric Vishria and Tim Howes, and they are looking to change the way we use the internet.

In an interview with them on YouTube, they gave a sneak peak at the features of Rockmelt and what the catalyst is for the change. Instead of just an ordinary web browser like Chrome or Firefox where you click on a search link, wait for it to load, and then go back to the search page, Rockmelt turns the internet into a magazine enabling you to ‘turn the page’ so to speak. This sounds like a new era in the Internet age. Everything is on the internet, and it seems like everyone is on Facebook, so by integrating these two into one browser, Rockmelt can open the door to new ways to game, commerce, or just socialize.

The test of the browser was actually performed through Google’s web browser Chromium, but it can be used through Firefox or Internet Explorer. One requirement to be able to use the features of Rockmelt is having a Facebook account. If you have an account, and you get invited, then you are able to look at your friends to see who is doing what on a side-panel. On the other side-panel to the right is your favorite sites that you visit the most, and in between is the ‘magazine’ style search engine and a faster way to surf.

Netscape is back in action by sneaking in the back door with a whole new way to browse the web. Do not be surprised to see this type of browser become the main stream of using the internet.  Be sure to check out YouTube’s video of Rockmelt, as well as sign up to get into this new and exciting way to use the internet.

It is amazing how many files are being saved on the computer right now as this blog is being created. Hundreds of cookies, caches, and temporary internet files are stored in folders across the hard drive, taking up valuable space you need for important files.

A perfect tool that is free to download is called CCleaner 3.0 and it works like a miracle. I just downloaded it to test it out, it takes about two minutes total to get it up and running. It gives you a checklist of Windows applications on your computer, like Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Google Chrome, that save tons of files every time you log on to the internet.

This tool is easy to use. It runs very fast searching through your hard drive, based on your selection of what you want deleted, and gets rid of all that crap you do not need. What is good about it is that when it is deleting all that crap, it knows what files to keep like email and other files that you use most frequently.In fact, that is what the name means: “Crap Cleaner 3.0″, just what we need!

What I love about using this tool for cleaning up my computer is that it really makes me feel that I have total control. Isn’t that what everyone wants for their PC? For me, having the ability to run a broom through my hard drive and clean up 118,096 MB of free space, is pretty freakin’ sweet!

Most of the programs used on the computer take “craps” on the hard drive, and after a while this can lead to a very slow PC. Another great feature of this program solves that riddle called DLL, that annoying error message that comes up when a file is missing. This program uses the registry cleaner, which searches the computer for those missing DLL files and solves the riddle.

What about those pesky start-up programs that clutter your computer as soon as you turn it on? No problem with the Crap Cleaner, it has a special tool to clear that crap out of there. By doing this your PC will be running like new again, simply because your PC will not be full of crap!

The new version has added new programs such as AVG Internet Security, Bittorrent, Audacity, and Windows Game Explorer. It gets better, after installing this program on your computer, all you have to do is sit back and let the cleaner do it’s job. The major problem people have with their computer is the speed it is running at. If it is not fast enough to their liking, then one of the first issues to look at is the crap that is covering the computer.

This is the way to thoroughly clean-up your PC. Yes, you can use the programs provided by Windows but this one is too easy. Keeping your PC clean should be easy, fast, and complete in doing the job. By giving you the control of what you want to be deleted, Crap Cleaner 3.0 is the ultimate cleaning tool.

Ever wonder what people are talking about when they are explaining the features of their new computer? Or are you in doubt on whether or not to upgrade your lap or desktop to a better network called “4G”?

There is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to these numbers and letters.

3G stands for Third Generation, its real name is International Mobile Telecommunications-2000, and it is what you see today in cell phones and other mobile devices. The 3G network allows you to access television, have a video chat, and the web all on your cell phone. Remember when cell phones just had a green and a red button, call and end? Not anymore. With 3G phones are hand-held computers that do everything. Who needs just a phone in today’s world?

The Nokia phones were one of the first to use the 3G network. The Koreans came out with the first networks, and since then it has evolved into a standard for broadband connections with better signals all over the world. Today the race is on to reach that magical number: 4.

You may have seen on T.V. the advertisement from T-Mobile saying that they have the 4G. This is what you might call bending that little thing we call truth. It is not 4G, just faster version of 3G, the real 4G is yet to be reached. The speed is measured in Mbit/s, or megabits per second, and companies are getting close to 4G standards but the closest is only 3.9G.

So what do customers do with all this running around trying to find the fastest “G”? Wait and see, sooner or later phones like Sprints new HTC EVO 4G will be the basic phone and we will be surrounded by networks speeding in 20 Mbit/s(that is fast!)

The only catch with getting these 4G phones now is this: there is no 4G network! Companies like Sprint and T-Mobile are trying to get a “one-up” on all their competition by boasting of the first 4G phone. Don’t buy into that crap, because even if it says 4G on it and it goes fast, the so-called 4G will revert back to 3G in most areas because it is not covered there.

That means that upgrading to 4G is really wasting your money. Stay with your phone that has 3G and do not worry about all the hubbub concerning 4G with the fastest broadband signal. Eventually yes, you will want to make the upgrade to 4G, but what is the point of having 4G when it does not really work?

You will know when the real 4G hits the market. It operates in Giga-bit speeds(1 Billion) so it is super fast. That is the one thing that makes the difference: speed, and companies like WiMax and LTE(Long-Term Evolution) have come close to reaching the 1 Gig mark, but not quite. 4G will have seamless mobility in file-transfers and internet access without interruption, like when one broadband signal moves to another area of coverage, and offers more in terms of gaming and streaming multimedia.