Internet Appliances Finding a Market

Recently, Apple Computer, with its launch of the iPad and before that the iPhone, has given us a look at what “computers” should and will look like. Far from the iconic monitor, keyboard, mouse and big box CPU that many of us grew up with, these new breeds of computing devices are beginning to look like something right out of Star Trek. We are used to having computers buried in the innards of our cars, our microwaves and coffee makers. Now, there are some other special purpose computers coming on the market that may find their way onto your kitchen counter or bedroom night stand.

These devices are small, stylish, inexpensive and simple to use. Their beauty may be in that they do not do everything. Perhaps engineers and designers have abandoned the swiss-army-knife approach to all things electronic.

Sony offers one of these devices called the “dash” personal internet viewer. The dash uses wifi to connect to the internet and, just like many smart phones, can run special purpose applications. The color display touch screen measures about 8 x10 inches. It comes with built in speakers. So you can preprogram it to access the current weather, traffic and perhaps your favorite news service like CNN.com or Cincinnati.com. Of course, it has several clock features as well.

By connecting to web sites like Pandora, you can have your favorite music wake you in the morning. While you can’t send messages to Facebook or mySpace you can review postings on your sites.

Other special use devices that are getting very popular are Internet Radios. These small desk top devices look like a regular radio but they do not receive radio signals over the air. They use the Internet. Most every radio station in the US and many around the world provide their programming to listeners via the Internet. So if your taste in radio programs runs toward Lithuanian Folk Songs, you can listen to all your favorites right from Vilnius. All programs are crystal clear and you don’t need a short wave radio.

Internet radio was once a novelty. Using a regular computer to listen is a hassle since you need to boot up, connect with the Internet and then point your browser to the right address. Internet Radios make it a breeze since they automatically connect to the internet when you turn them on and you store your various internet addresses just like you do with the push buttons on your car radio.

Look for other special purpose computers and Internet appliances to show up on store shelves. Some may look and feel like your favorite lap top but most will be entirely new designs as different as a smart phone is from the black rotary dial phone in your grandma’s hallway.

More Than One Way To Surf The Web

More and more of us are using the web for everything from finding an address or phone number to paying bills and banking. Those tasks, for the most part, can be accomplished without problems. Unfortunately, there are some more complex web applications that are much more prone to failure or intermittent operation. When this happens it can be frustrating.

For most people using Microsoft Windows computers, Internet Explorer is the “browser” of choice. (A “browser” is the software loaded on your computer to allow access to the web.) I guess the word “choice” may not be quite accurate since many may not know that there are others available and those browsers often do a better job than Internet Explorer.

Many find Firefox a great alternative. This software is known as “open source” software meaning that computer programmers all over the world can modify and improve it without having the Microsoft legal team increase their billable hours.

You can download the Firefox software free at http://www.mozilla.com/. Downloading and installing it on your computer takes only a few minutes. I have both Internet Explorer and Firefox loaded on all my computers and I often find that if I am having a problem with retrieving content, especially video and graphics from the web, just using the other browser fixes the problem.

There are other options. Google has a browser called Chrome. It is much newer than either Internet Explorer or Firefox and has yet to gain a lot of use. It can be downloaded free from www.google.com/chome. I have used Chome only sparingly. It does have a snappy look, but I did not find it any better that Firefox.

Finally let’s look at another option. All of the browsers discussed above have been designed for installation on a Windows PC. Many people have adopted a Mac platform and as such have been using the Safari browser developed by Apple. Safari is also available in a version that runs on a Windows PC. Like many products coming from the land of Steve Jobs, Safari is a clean, speedy browser that allows the user to have several web pages open at once and visible as panes on the screen. It can be downloaded free from Apple at www.apple.com/safari/ Downloading takes only a few minutes but setting up the various video configurations may take longer since Windows Media files and Flash Media files are not embraced by the folks at Apple.

Having more than one browser on your computer is a good idea and any of the ones listed above are good choices and are free.

A Cloudy Future for Personal Computing

A few weeks ago I wrote about the proliferation of world wide computer networks and how they have both improved the services that we use every day and also provide ample opportunity for hackers and other miscreants to disrupt these systems. For better or worse, the trend of concentrating data and computing power on large networked servers located at strategic locations is exploding. The phenomenon is called “Cloud Computing.”

Once home and office computers were designed to handle all of your tasks with internal computational power and the data storage housed within your machine. Ads for new computers touted large capacity disk drives and faster processing power. Today you will see advertised netbooks, smart phones and other devices with relatively small internal storage capacity and modest internal processing power because the programs and data are not stored on the actual machine. Rather, the data are sent to the “cloud” via the internet and the actual programs are running on remote computers.

The benefits of cloud computing are many. First, since all your data, i.e. documents, pictures, videos, addresses and calendars, are not stored solely on your machine but are sent to the cloud, the data is much less prone to loss. A recent study found that fewer than 10% of home computer users back up their data on a regular basis. Since the weakest component in most computers is the disk drive, it is inevitable that you will loose your data if it is not backed up regularly. With cloud computing the data is sent to servers that are redundant and backed up constantly, and the data is safe.

It is not only data that can be stored on the cloud, programs too can be stored there and actually run remotely. Since the size and complexity of these programs is irrelevant to the capacity of your machine, they can provide many more features. Also, they can be continuously updated and improved without the need for sending updates to millions of computers.

Finally, while any data on the net is susceptible to hackers, the operators of these cloud datacenters are much more adroit at foiling these intrusions than most of us mere mortals. While it is not impossible for hackers to retrieve your private data from the cloud, it is very unlikely. A good hacker is more likely to get information from the computer on your desk than she can from a secure databank.

The new version of Microsoft Office was just released and one of the touted features is ease of using cloud computing. Since documents can now be sent to the cloud, collaboration is made easy. Several people, separated by thousands of miles, can work on the same documents and presentations in real time.

Google, Microsoft and others offer free or almost free cloud data storage. You can see an example at http://www.skydrive.com/. There you can sign up for free storage of up to 35 mb of information.

As networks, both wired and wireless, get faster and faster and access is more ubiquitous, look for cloud computing to become the standard.

Your Computer & Audacity Make a Great Recorder

Most often I try to write about topics that will be directly applicable to my readers. This week we will look at some free software and inexpensive hardware that may not have direct utility for you, but if you share this information with your teenaged grand kids, nieces or nephews, or the kid next door, you will certainly be looked at as a tech-savvy, albeit still old, cool person.

The explosion in the computing power of even the most inexpensive lap top or desk top computer is amazing. In reality we use very little of the processing power of these machines for routine tasks of surfing the net and sending email. How about using that lap top as a very good quality audio recording studio complete with multi-track overdubbing and CD mastering? Any budding garage band will jump at trying this out and since you suggested it, you will be dubbed “cool.”

Start by downloading the free software from http://audacity.sourceforge.net. This is a free package and safe to install on your computer. Once installed there is an easy set up, but before long you will have a very sophisticated audio recording system that will allow you to record and edit individual tracks and overdub multiple tracks so a single musician can play multiple parts and you can edit them all into one recording. You can then make a CD or MP3 file.

The Audacity software also allows you to record from other sources so you can use it to transfer vinyl LPs and even audio cassette tapes to MP3 or other digital files for playback on your iPod. The features in this free package are in many ways superior to some of the commercial recording software packages costing two hundred dollars or more.

Of course, to record live music you need a microphone. The microphones that are built into lap tops or come as plug-ins for desk top computers are not very good. You will want to use a good quality microphone. There are several good microphones now available starting at about fifty bucks that have a USB connector that can be plugged directly into the computer. Check out www.Amazon.com or stop by the Music Shoppe.

If you already have a microphone with a standard XLR connector, and many garage bands do, there are adapters available that modify that XLR connector making it a USB connector and able to be plugged directly into the computer. Again, these can be purchased on line or locally at the Music Shoppe. If Brian doesn’t have it in stock, I am sure he can order it for you.

I have used Audacity for a couple years and I continue to be impressed with it. It is only available for PCs running various iterations of Windows. There is no Mac version. The web site has a lot of tips and the community of users is very free with a helping hand. Oh yes, if that garage band records in the garage next door, there is a headphone jack on most computers.

Home Network Options

Many of us have installed wireless computer networks (Wi-Fi) in our homes and small businesses. The ease of sharing a single Internet connection or a printer is a real convenience. Also, Wi-Fi allows those with other Internet enabled devices like smart phones, iPods and iPads to connect to the outside world. And of course since Wi-Fi is wireless, being able to freely move around your home with your lap top or iPod is really great.

For those who want a home network but do not want to use Wi-Fi, the only option up to now was to run special wiring to various rooms in your home and install network jacks. This wiring is called CAT 5, which stands for Category 5, an electrical engineering designation. For new construction, running these thin cables is no big deal. Running them through walls and floors in older homes can be a real pain.

There is an option. There are devices that can connect all your computers, printers, scanners and Internet connection using the existing wires in your home which are being used for your electrical service. That’s right; the same receptacle into which you plug your living room lamp can also be used as a high speed data connection.

The technology used is the same that some major utility companies like Duke Energy have offered, albeit on a limited basis, to provide Internet access to customers without the need for cable TV, fiber or telephone wires.

There are a number of companies that sell the special router and adapters. You can get product information at www.Homeplug.org. There you will find information on various applications.

This type of home network is not for everyone. If you are a power-user who is using the network to send video files to the TV and store HD television programs on a central server, this is not for you. Also, if you want to use your smart phone or other wireless internet devices, this solution will not work for you. On the other hand, if you have two computers and a printer that you want to connect or just want to share a single internet connection, this might be a good option.

Networks A Mixed Blessing

Many years ago at the dawn of what we now call the digital age, Thomas Watson, then CEO of IBM, was alleged to have opined, “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” While this was a misquote of a very shrewd business leader, the substance of this observation is not too far off the mark. More and more computers and other digital devices need to be interconnected in order to provide all the services now available at home, at work or on the road. The need for processing power built into the individual devices, be it a netbook, a smart phone or an iPad, is lessening as all of these devices are now interconnected via networks and the Internet. Indeed there are relatively few large super computers serving up information and services. The power of the internet is in the connectivity.

While this “distributed power” of networks and the Internet is a enabler of our world economy and our modern lifestyle, it is also our “Achilles Heal.” In his new book, Cyber War, Richard Clarke warns that warfare in the future will not be fought with bombs, guns or even unmanned aircraft. Rather, he notes, our foes are building new forces and weapons aimed at our computer networks. This cyber-arms build up is largely unnoticed by the public. Nevertheless, it is posing a danger of premeditated or accidental cyberwar, which in turn could trigger violent conflicts across the globe.

In conflicts of the past, warring armies concentrated on destroying bridges, rail lines, and highways as they were all needed for a country to carry on day to day commerce. Today with almost all of our daily routines dependent on computer networks and the Internet, the target of our foes has changed. The systems controlling the phone calls we make, the electricity flowing into our homes, the money from the ATM, and even the water used to brush our teeth in the morning, all rely on computer networks. This is the new ground zero.

Few of us using home or office computers have been spared the irritation and inconvenience of viruses. Even with software to detect them, some continue to get through wreaking havoc on our personal data. While this is a hassle, it pales in comparison to the results of a failure in one or more of these national and international networks. Clarke points out that the military has in place isolated networks protected from outside attack. That is not the case with most businesses, utilities and financial institutions They share the same Internet with us mere mortals . So a cyber warrior may be able to turn off the lights in a major city using the same network as the teen hacker uses to place compromising photo of his principal on his school’s webpage.

In the not too distant future, the military might of a nation may well be vested in the computer engineers and programmers rather than in fighter pilots and physical armaments.

Open Office Worth A Second Look

The prices of desktop and lap top computers continue to be very affordable. There are net books available for about $250 and desktops loaded with features for not too much more. Once you make the purchase you are often in for a surprise. The cost of the necessary software can be as much or more than the hardware. While operating systems like XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 come included in all but the most inexpensive computers, the software required to actually do something productive with your machine costs extra.

Even a basic suite of programs like Microsoft Office (Student Version) which contains MS Word, a word processor, Excel, a spreadsheet program and Power Point, a presentation program, costs about $150. If you want the deluxe edition, the price can go over $500. That is more money than many of us will pay for the new computer.

You may be surprised to learn that you have an option and do not need to purchase these expensive software packages. There are very good programs available free on the Internet. No, they are not pirated versions of Microsoft programs. If you download them you need not worry about seeing a black Chevy Suburban coming up your driveway complete with a contingent of FBI agents led by Bill Gates.

One of the leading free packages is Open Office, a suite of programs that has been developed by some very smart volunteer programmers spread throughout the world. In fact, the code for these programs, rather than being a guarded corporate secrete, is available to anyone who wants to make improvements to the programs. As of this writing there have been more than 100 million downloads of the Open Office software.

The basic package available at www.openoffice.org contains a word processor, spreadsheet program, presentation program, database program and a neat drawing program. All of them are compatible with MS Office. You can read and write files in Open Office and use those files in MS Office and visa versa. Open Office looks and feels much like Microsoft Office. You will find many of the same conventions, icons and tools. If you have used MS Word or Excel, you will need little or no training on Open Office.

Getting Open Office is a snap. Just set your browser to www.openoffice.org and follow the downloading directions. It will take about 20 minutes to download the programs and set them up on your computer.

Open Office has been around sine the late 1990s and is used by people all over the world. Since the development is ongoing there are new features and improvements offered through the Open Office website all the time.

Before you order that new version of MS Office, you may wish to give Open Office a try. What have you got to lose? You can’t beat the price.