Hacking into someone else’s e-mail is bad.  This is different than overlooking someone’s inbox because they mistakenly left it up on your computer.  Hacking into someone’s personal correspondence is an invasion of privacy and something that is premeditated.  The underlying concern is what kind of retribution will the victim be able to enforce.  Or will a judge be able to intervene on what is considered laissez-faire, sacred Internet ground. 

The Internet has been a domain of free space, or non-government enforced so to speak.  Recently, a Tennessee college student, David Kernell, hacked into a potential Vice President’s e-mail account.  He claimed that he forgot his Gmail password for Governor Palin’s e-mail account; set up a new password; and started posting her e-mails on websites.  This might be time for the Courts to step in and make an example out of him and possibly a landmark decision to govern future cases by.  We are all in favor of finally having some punishment for hackers and those causing harm, such as spyware and viruses. 

If convicted, this student will receive a maximum of 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a 3-year term of supervised release.  However, keep in mind this case is being brought by the Governor’s party as an “invasion of the Governor’s privacy and a violation of the law.”  This means that this case may only apply to future political figures and not necessarily anybody else.  We see no reason why an unknown person’s privacy is any less important than a public figure’s identity.  Hopefully, the courts will realize this to which will protect the Internet for everybody.  Well, we are not coming off of our soapbox and hopefully the courts will soon go on theirs.  We will find out soon enough when the Court rules its decision in December.

Hitting the Ctrl-alt-delete buttons simultaneously on a PC quickly resolves application hangs or freezing.  Instead of restarting the computer, all you have to do it hit ctrl-alt-delete and the task manager appears.  Then, you can select the application that is freezing which is most likely signaling “Not responding” and end task.  Finally, your problematic program will stop and you can move ahead as if your computer freezing is a thing of the past.

Can Mac users utilize the same command to kill lazy applications?  Yes, you can.  Instead, the command is Alt (Option)-Apple Key (Command)-Esc.  This will allow you to force quit a program.  Sometimes, it requires you to select the program to quit a few times before it finally quits, similar to Windows quitting a program in task manager. 

Next time you want to show off your Mac guru skills, you can try a little force quit action on a freezing app.

If you’re a swimmer, you’re used o exercising in silence.  Now, you can quicken up your pace with H20 Audio’s Surge, the latest waterproof earphones.  You can be as deep as 12 feet and still listen to some jams while you backstroke. 

The earphones stay secure in your ears with an auto-customized, pressurized fit.  So, if you think you’re at Michael Phelps-speed, your earphones won’t leave you behind.  For $60, these earbuds are worth trying and you don’t have to be a tech genius to work them.

Magic Jack has been rated best technology of 2008.  So, should you get it? 

Magic Jack is a new way you can use the phone.  The Magic Jack looks like a flash drive that you plug into the USB port of your Mac or PC.  On the other side of the Magic Jack is a phone jack that you plug your regular phone into.  Your computer and Internet have to be on to receive the calls.  If your computer or Internet is off, then the calls will go to voice mail.  You may forward the calls to another number if your Internet is off.

What’s the difference between the Magic Jack and Voice over IP?  The technology is very similar.  With Voice over IP, the device is a phone router that you plug your phone into.  This phone router, or Voice over IP router, then connects to your modem and/or regular wireless router, and you’re in business.  With the Magic Jack, the device just plugs into your computer, and that’s it.  It’s much easier to set up and doesn’t require a computer expert.

The price is very different.  Voice over IP is cheaper than regular Verizon and att analog voice service, but still approximately $25/month.  With the Magic Jack, it is only $40 for the first year, and then $20 for each year thereafter.  This includes free local and long distance, as well as free directory assistance, call waiting, voice mail, and caller ID.  Also, the reception is much clearer than Voice over IP.

The only downfall is that International calling is not available yet.  But, you can probably get around that by purchasing a Magic Jack for your international buddy as well as yourself and call each other with your US numbers.  The great thing about Magic Jack, as Voice over IP, is that since it is based off the Internet, you can call locally if you set up the devices to have US phone numbers.  Also, you can keep your existing phone number since that service is not yet available.

So, if you’re sick of your monthly bills or poor reception, and you’re a domestic caller, Magic Jack is worth the switch.  If you’re an avid abroad caller, you can buy your phone buddy a Magic Jack.  But, if you have a lot of international friends, you’re better off waiting until Magic Jack comes out with a solid, useable international calling plan.

Google felt a little left out with the Internet browser race.  So, it developed the Google Chrome web browser. 

The Google browser, first of all, is very quick.  Sites pop up quickly after you perform searches.  The next nice feature is its ability to auto-detect the browser (i.e. Internet Explorer or Firefox) that you’ve been using, and it will automatically import favorites, usernames/passwords, and settings.  The coolest feature is being able to see a thumbnail of your favorite sites on the home page.  It’s not the easiest to see, but it allows you to well-organize your sites.

There are a few kinks to iron out, but overall Google is threatening the tech gurus of Microsoft and Mozilla with their latest competing product.

Chrome shows your most recent web pages visited so you can easily visit them again. 

It is very easy to accumulate a large collection of music on your computer, especially with iTunes.  It’s nice to listen to the music on your PC or Mac, but what if you’d rather play the music on your surround sound stereo?  You can do so by a wireless device that will act as a bridge between your stereo and computer.

For Windows users, you may buy the Linksys WMB54G Wireless-G Music Bridge which may easily integrate with your wireless network.  For Mac users, you may buy and set up the Apple Airport Express mobile base station.

Either option doesn’t require much technical support setup.  You might have to reset the network settings to include the music streaming, but it is overall an easy tech setup.

We have seen many sluggish Windows Vista computers come to our computer shops. Most don’t have the proper RAM and/or processor speeds. Others are weighed down with viruses, spyware, pop-ups, and excessive start-up programs.

We have seen a new breed of slow Windows Vista computers. They are due from the system restore either being corrupted, contain viruses in memory, or store an overabundance of restore points. How do you resolve or clear your system restore?

Right click on My Computer and click Properties. Click on System Restore and Turn off System Restore. This will clean up any issues in the system restore points as well as free up your system resources.

It is customary to implement Microsoft Exchange 2003 Standard Edition for networks.  This software allows companies to share contacts, calendars, e-mail, and set up public folders and other items.  This edition is usually more than adequate for the typical workplace.  However, this version has a capacity of 75GB.  This means that the total size for all of the e-mail accounts cannot be over 75GB.  If it goes over this level, then e-mails will cease to be sent and received.

If you need more than this 75GB database, as some of our New York Computer Help customers require, then you can make the upgrade to Exchange Standard 2003 Enterprise Edition.  This version upgrades the database capacity to 16TB.  This is essentially provides an open cap since 16TB is a smurfload of storage.  Further, it it easy on a technical support level to break up groups, offices, and organizational structures with the Enterprise Edition.

The Enterprise version is a great way to expand with a growing organization.  The cost is approximately $3,750, but is worth it due its one-time fee for unlimited e-mail storage.

If you have trouble opening your picture, you might not have the right software to open it.  If you just had a tech support person transfer your files from an old computer to new computer, you might not be able to open up some files, such as pictures.  This might be because you don’t have the right software installed.  Or maybe you can’t find the same software you had from your old computer.

Irfanview is a free software that can open many image files, such as: jpeg, tiff, bmp, architectural files and dozens of other graphics.  It is a viewer so you cannot edit the pictures.  In some cases, you can use this viewer to open up partially corrupted pictures.  That shows how powerful this software is.  The resolution only is very sharp and clear.  It allows for crisp print-outs. 

Irfanview is definitely a solid application to have in your tech toolchest.

If you’ve waited for Blackberry to finally come out with the iPhone stopper, you might be happy with the newest phone: the Blackberry Storm.  The Storm’s most talked about feature is its interactive keyboard.  The keyboard is on the screen like the iPhone, but it differs in that it is it vibrates after you type the keys.  It also provides a texturized feel to it for knowing you’ve touched the right keys.  Further, you can flip the phone to landscape view to type on a full-length keyboard.  Definitely an improvement from the Apple product although you can call it a bit of the “we can do it better” montre.

The phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera that can also shoots video.  The iPhone’s 2.0 megapixel camera cannot take videos yet.  Also, in contrast to the iPhone, you’ll get turn-by-turn navigation with the new Storm.  Another nice feature is the ability to replace the battery with a spare if you’re running low on juice and away from your charger.  With the iPhone, you better be close to your charger since only Apple support is able to take out the wedged in battery.

The phone, like the iPhone, has a touchscreen.  Unlike the touchscreen, it has removable memory for adding more pictures and other info.  When you take a pic with the iPhone, you can’t IM it to your contacts.  The Storm takes care of that.  Like the iPhone, the web navigation is crisp, clear, and bright.

The price has been given as the launch date should be in the next couple of weeks.  This phone will only be offered by Verizon at first.  Sounds similar to the att alliance iPhone had at first?  There are definitely many similarities between the iPhone and Storm, but the Storm’s specs improve upon Apple’s phone.  Based on the specs, we can see a lot of iPhone users making the reverse switch to the Blackberry, and lot of company PC and Mac users, going with the Storm especially if the keyboard is comfortable to work with.  Many iPhone users’ biggest gripe is the glass keyboard providing unsuccessful results for their big fingers.  The Storm keyboard might convert these unhappy iPhone campers.