May 2013

Vol.24 Iss.05

News & Notes Business Tech Personal Tech

Tech & Business News Choose & Use A VPN All About Bluetooth

FROM PAPER TO THE CLOUD

The 2GB Sky

wifi smartpen
from Livescribe
t
Record notes and audio
as you write
t
Replay audio by tapping
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t
Access your digital notes
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TECH SUPPORT | Recover Deleted Files

 News & Notes
3 Technology News
Volume 24 . May 2013 . Issue 5
5 Windows News & Views

On The Cover See pg. 10 6 Business News

Livescribe 2GB Sky wifi smartpen

With Livescribe’s 2GB Sky wifi Business Technology
smartpen, you can record notes and
audio as you write, replay audio by 29 Virtual Private Networks
tapping your notes, and access your
digital notes on nearly any device.
35 Doing Business In The Cloud

Personal Technology
42 All About Bluetooth

51 CPU Caches

Tech Support
67 Help Desk Q&A

70 Recover Deleted Files

Tech Focus

15 | Memory
As with most things in the world of technology, change
continues unabated: One good thing about that continued
change is that memory capacities have continued to climb,
even as prices tend to drop. But memory is confusing.
What kind does your system need? Where can you find it?
How much do you need? Can you have too much? How
do you install it? Or should you leave that to a pro? In
this special section, we’ll answer these and other pressing
memory-related questions.

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 News & Notes

Technology News
MADE, DESIGNED, ASSEMBLED IN AMERICA
Harris Interactive recently surveyed consumers on their purchasing preferences
and found that products perceived as “American” have a leg up in the hearts
and minds of Americans, compared to those perceived as “foreign.” The survey
reports that 75% of Americans think that a product should be made in America
to be considered American. In some cases, this means U.S. companies that have
outsourced manufacturing don’t make products that qualify. Approximately 52%
think that products manufactured by U.S. companies can qualify as being Ameri-
can, 47% say a product’s parts must be made in the U.S. for it to be American,
and a one in four think “designed in America” is enough to make it American.

● Scanning QR codes may be getting more

popular, but they’re still far from common.

QR CODE SCANNING NICHE

Nielsen’s latest report, titled The
Mobile Consumer: A Global Snap-
shot, found that just 24% of American
smartphone users said they scanned
a barcode or QR code in a given
month in Q2 2012. Compared to
other smartphone activities, that’s a
fairly low number. Mobile banking
and location-based services/GPS both
ranked higher, with 38% and 48% of
users saying they performed each at
least once during the same month.
QR code and barcode scanning did
outrank NFC/mobile wallet use (3%),
but most smartphones do not cur-
rently support this functionality.

MOBILE TUG OF WEB

According to Jumptap, a mobile advertising firm, the tablet
share of mobile Internet traffic is on an upward trend, but it
will come at the expense of smartphone Web traffic. In 2011,
Jumptap reports that 7% of the mobile Web traffic came from
tablets and 17% from feature phones. In 2012, however,
Jumptap found that tablets accounted for 18% of mobile Web
traffic. Feature phone traffic had slipped to 4% over that pe-
riod. Jumptap predicts that for 2013, smartphone traffic will
shrink from 78% to 70% and the tablet share will increase
from 18% to 29%.

Smart Computing / May 2013 3

 News & Notes

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Smartphones and tablets are taking

over Web browsing and social net-
working tasks from PCs.

YOU’RE COMPUTING LESS ON YOUR PC

The NPD Group reports that 37% of users have replaced their PCs with mobile
devices for a majority of their computing needs. For these users, Facebook and
Web browsing are their primary computing activities. Other activities moving
away from PCs and to tablets and smartphones include playing games, reading
books and magazines, and posting and uploading photos. 21% of those sur-
veyed also report that their Internet-capable TVs are taking over for PCs when it
comes to video streaming from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and similar services.

BETTER ONLINE
SHOPPING
A new survey from
The Boston Consulting ●Young people are very fond of their tablets.
Group asked consumers
what three things online
retailers could do to SURVEYS SAY...
encourage them to buy When it comes to surveys, sometimes
more. An overwhelming you get better results when you simply
majority of respondents poll the pollsters. This is what Econ-
(74%) agreed that free sultancy did with its Digital Marketing
delivery was a big moti- Outlook Survey. According to it, 66%
vator. 50% of the survey of agencies polled believe that young
respondents said lower people will make tablets their primary
prices would encourage computing device. The survey also found
them to shop more. The that more than half of agencies (55%)
next best motivators in- think users will spend more time on
clude free returns (35%), ● Online shoppers love free shipping. fewer sites. The biggest consensus comes
more secure websites from the 88% of agencies that believe
(25%), better virtual consumers will demand the ability to
views of products (25%), insurance against credit card fraud (19%), and the watch and listen to their media wherever
ability to compare different products (18%). Less popular options include flex- they happen to be, on their TVs, PCs,
ible delivery time and place, same-day delivery, and guaranteed delivery timing. tablets, and smartphones.

4 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 News & Notes

Windows News
OFFICE 2013 LICENSE AGREEMENT CHANGES
Microsoft recently announced that it has changed its licensing terms for retail
copies of Office 2013. Previously, you could only transfer the license to a new
PC if the old one had failed and was under warranty. Based on customer feed-
back, the Office 2013 license agreement now allows you to transfer Office 2013
onto any new computer. The changes are effective as of early March, though the
license agreement itself won’t be changed until a future release. You can not trans-
fer the software more than one time within 90 days, and any time you transfer Of-
fice 2013 or 2010, you’ll need to remove the copy found on the previous PC. The
retail copies of Office 2013 include the Office Home and Student, Office Home
and Business, Office Professional, and standalone Office 2013 editions.

● LICENSE CHANGE

Office 2013 can now be transferred

● In the future, you’ll be able to interact with
all the devices in your home. to another PC, thanks to changes to
Microsoft’s licensing terms.
MICROSOFT’S VISION
OF THE FUTURE
The physical and digital worlds will work
together in the next several years, accord-
ing to a video promoting Microsoft’s new
Envisioning Center. Most of the digital
devices in your home will be connected
to the Web and will feature touchscreens.
In the video, all the connected devices
are able to work together to accomplish
a task. For example, you could select
a recipe and have it projected onto a
kitchen counter top. You’ll also be able
to video chat with friends and family, as
cameras and microphones will also be
built into most devices.

THE PROBLEM STEPS RECORDER

Looking for a way to help tech support people understand the problem you’re hav-
ing with a computer? Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 come with a Problem Steps
Recorder utility that allows you to reproduce the issue by capturing text and screen
shots. To reach the tool in Win7, just type PSR in the search field and select the
Problem Steps Recorder (Record Steps To Reproduce A Problem). Click the Start
Record button and continue through the steps you usually perform when the prob-
lem occurs. Once the issue pops up, click Stop Record, and save the recording. The
● This utility can capture an issue with image captures will be saved as a .ZIP file, which you can email to the appropriate
screen shots and comments. tech support contact. You can also add comments to the record.

Smart Computing / May 2013 5

 News & Notes

Business News
WO R K I N P R O G R E S S
Work In Progress is a Las Vegas-based co-working space with the mission of
providing startups and creative thinkers with the tools to inspire creativity and
innovation. There are now a total of three downtown locations, as Work In
Progress has recently opened a new workspace on 6th Street. Member benefits
include access to Work In Progress and partner events and worklounges with
coffee and comfortable chairs for client meetings. Workspace options include
shared desks, dedicated desks, conference rooms, and lockers for storage.

● The workspaces will be similar to this ASU

Skysong co-working accelerator space.

ARIZONA ENTREPRENEUR
RESOURCES
ASU Venture Catalyst is working with
the Scottsdale Public Library system
to provide co-working and expert
fact-finding resources for small busi-
nesses and other entrepreneurs by
delivering support within Arizona li-
braries. The pilot location in the Civic
● LAS VEGAS CO-WORK
Center Library is up and running, with
future locations soon to be added to Work In Progress has three
what’s being called the Alexandria locations, with two others com-
Network. The ASU mentor network
will offer additional expert support for ing to downtown Las Vegas.
advice and collaboration, as well as
ways to connect with others.

RELAUNCH OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS

The state of Connecticut recently relaunched 11 small business advisory centers, thanks to help from the
state’s Department of Community and Economic Development and the federal Small Business Administra-
tion. The 11 centers are now supported with a five-year program with a $11.6 million budget, and they are
expected to open throughout the spring and summer of 2013. With the centers, you’ll be able to meet with
experts who can help you access your skills, knowledge, and drive to start a new business. Advisors can
help you develop a budget, secure financial assistance, create marketing plans, and assist with licensing
and procurement. Small business owners looking to grow their businesses can meet with an advisor to
● The new centers can identify potential sources of capital financing. Expert knowledge is available to evaluate bottom line value,
help you start or grow your demonstrate value to customers, and identify new industry segments. Detailed support and direction is also
small business. provided for those who want to target new markets, merge with another company, or expand globally.

6 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 News & Notes

BUSINESS NEWS

● Geekdom offers month-to-month membership and

free mentoring from pros and existing members.

● SMALL BUSINESS EVENTS

Small business events give you a chance
to learn critical management skills and
network with professionals in related fields.
Don’t miss these upcoming opportunities.
If you would like to see your event here,
email [email protected] with
NEW GEEKDOM CO-WORKING SPACE the subject Small Business Event.
Geekdom is a collaborative environment that’s designed for entrepreneurs, tech-
nologists, developers, designers, and other tech mavens. Geekdom recently an- SOBCON CHICAGO 2013
nounced a new location, GeekdomX, in San Francisco. It provides 15,000 square Chicago, Ill. | May 3rd-5th, 2013
feet meant to house technology-based startups. The GeekdomX location will be http://sobconchicago13.eventbrite.com/
able to connect with 600 Geekdom members in San Antonio. One unique aspect
of Geekdom is that members must allot one hour per week or one workshop VENDOR OUTREACH SESSION
per month to educate other members about their expertise, which makes it easy Washington, DC | May 14, 2013
for members to connect with the like-minded people around them. There are no www.hhs.gov/about/smallbusiness/
long-term leases, and the spaces feature dedicated desks and offices. events.html

THE SMALL BUSINESS EXPO (NEW YORK)

New York, NY | May 16, 2013
WORDPRESS BUSINESS www.thesmallbusinessexpo.com/
WordPress.com has released a NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK
service designed specifically for
Washington, DC | May 20th-26th, 2013
the needs of small businesses.
www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/
For $299 a year, you can invest
in WordPress Business and re- VETERAN ENTREPRENEUR TRAINING SYMPOSIUM
ceive access to all of WordPress’s Reno, Nev. | June 10th-13th, 2013
premium themes and enjoy www.veterantrainingsymposium.com
unlimited storage for videos,
images, music, and other website THE SMALL BUSINESS EXPO (DALLAS)
features—without any hidden Dallas, Tex. | June 20, 2013
storage or extra bandwidth costs. www.thesmallbusinessexpo.com/
WordPress won’t display any
ads with the WordPress Busi- ● WordPress Business offers customizable 10TH ANNUAL ELITE SDVOSB
ness service. Folks with video- design and unlimited storage for multimedia. NATIONAL CONFERENCE
centric websites will also like the San Diego, Calif. | August 21st-23rd, 2013
service’s support for VideoPress, www.sdvobconference.com/
which lets you upload up to 1GB files with no cap on video length. Other key
features include live chat support available M-F 9am to 5pm EST, a free domain, THE SMALL BUSINESS EXPO (BOSTON)
and custom design capabilities. A guided transfer is provided to make it easy to Boston, Mass. | October 17, 2013
transfer an existing WordPress site to a self-hosted installation. An offsite redi- www.thesmallbusinessexpo.com/
rect tool lets you bring existing visitors over to your new website.

Smart Computing / May 2013 7

 News & Notes

Small Business Resources

The Web has a trove of resources for SOHOs (small and home
offices) and small businesses—if you know where to look. Find an
association that can help you meet your goals; get information from the
government about loans, grants, and taxes; and stay up-to-date with the
best small business newsletters and blogs. If you have a pressing
question, pose it on a forum to see what your peers have to say.

SCORE
www.score.org

ASSOCIATIONS &
(800) 634-0245
(703) 487-3612
SUPPORT 1175 Herndon Pkwy
STE 900
Better Business Bureau Herndon, VA 20170
www.bbb.org
(703) 276-0100 Small Business
4200 Wilson Blvd. Development Centers The Entrepreneurial
STE 800 Network (SBDCNET) Mind
Arlington, VA www.sbdcnet.org www.drjeffcornwall.com GOVERNMENT
22203-1838 (800) 689-1912
501 W. Durango Blvd. Grants.gov
Main Street Alliance (MSA) San Antonio, TX 78207
mainstreetalliance.org House Committee On
info@mainstreetalliance Small Business
.org
(603) 831-1835
FORUMS smallbusiness.house.gov

3518 S. Edmunds St. Small Business Small Business and

Seattle, WA 98118 BLOGS Administration Self-Employed Tax Center
www.irs.gov/businesses
Community
National Federation of Signal vs. Noise www.sba.gov /small
Independent Businesses 37signals.com/svn/posts /community
(NFIB) Small Business
www.nfib.com Small Business Search The Small Business Administration (SBA)
(800) 634-2669 Marketing Community Forums sba.gov
(615) 872-5800 www.smallbusinesssem www.smallbusiness
53 Century Blvd. .com forums.org U.S. Copyright Office
STE 250 copyright.gov
Nashville, TN 37214 Small Biz Bee Small Business
smallbizbee.com Ideas Forum U.S. Department of Labor
National Small Business www.smallbusinessbrief dol.gov
Association (NSBA) Small Business Trends .com/forum
nsba.biz smallbiztrends.com U.S. Senate Committee
(202) 293-8830 The Young Entrepreneur on Small Business &
1156 15th St., STE 1100 The Small Business Blog www.youngentrepreneur Entrepreneurship
Washington, DC 20005 www.sme-blog.com .com/forum sbc.senate.gov

8 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 News & Notes

Small Business
Development Centers
Assistance For Entrepreneurs

H
aven’t the foggiest idea how to Small Business De-
harness your entrepreneur- velopment Centers’
ial spirit, pull yourself any- Web site (asbdc-us.
where using bootstraps, or think in org), input your ZIP
or out of a box? Starting and run- code into the Find Your
ning your own business is tough, but Nearest Small Business De-
fortunately for prospective and cur- velopment Center text box, and then ganization, engineering, and techni-
rent small business owners, SBDCs click Go. The results page will high- cal problems and access to feasibility
(Small Business Development Cen- light Lead Centers but rank centers in studies that can flesh out a fledgling
ters; asbdc-us.org) dispense with the order of those closest to your location. business plan. Some SBDCs also of-
clichés and offer training, counseling, Often, SBDCs partner with universities fer affordable training seminars to
and other assistance to help you craft and colleges, and tend to be found on help with various aspects of running
your vision into a real-world success. campuses across the country. On the a business. You can also rest assured
search results page, you’ll also find that your business with the SBDC
Run A Small Business a link to the local office’s Web page, will remain confidential.
Pooling resources from federal, state,
Women’s Business Centers
Frequent Question
and local governments, as well as the
private sector and the educational The SBA offers WBCs (Women’s
community, The Association of Small If you’re like many other Business Centers), which directly
Business Development Centers is truly people starting a small business, serve female entrepreneurs through
a joint venture with a vested interest in funding is at the top of your nearly 100 educational centers na-
fostering small business growth. For an mind. A common question that tionwide. This organization strives
overview of what the SBDC can offer entrepreneurs have for SBDCs is: to assist women in overcoming the
you and your small business, visit bit.ly “Am I eligible for grant money?” hurdles they face in today’s business
/dKYe2a. The SBA (Small Business Ad- The answer depends on the environment by offering business
ministration; www.sba.gov) is partnered nature of your business. Grants. management training and technical
with SBDCs. gov (www.grants.gov) will give you assistance to all women, with a special
a clear picture of your options emphasis on economically or socially
Help On Your Turf disadvantaged women. The services
before your visit to a Small
You may be surprised to learn that Business Development Center. and training programs are also com-
there’s probably an SBDC branch monly offered in multiple languages
nearby; there are locations in all 50 to enable those who speak English as
states, in the District of Columbia, email address, phone number, a fax a second language or are still learn-
Puerto Rico, and even in the U.S. ter- number if available, and address. ing English. To find your nearest WBC,
ritories. There are 63 nationwide Lead visit bit.ly/hs3st2.
Small Business Development Centers The Closest Thing
coordinating program services for ev- To A Free Lunch Small Business, Big Payoff
ery sub-center and satellite location The services offered may vary by Small business owners know that
in each state. Centers are made up of location, but all SBDCs offer many achieving success is about taking risks,
directors, full-time staff members, and services free of charge. Some typi- innovating, and making tough deci-
various part-time staff and volunteers. cal services you canexpect from sions day in and day out. Thanks to
The best way to contact your near- your nearest SBDC include help with the services offered at the SBA, SBDCs,
est SBDC is to visit the Association of financial, marketing, production, or- and WBCs, you’re not on your own. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 9

 From Paper To The Cloud
Meet the 2GB Sky™ wifi smartpen from Livescribe
Now you can quickly and easily get your written notes, charts, diagrams, and drawings into your digital world, where
you have access to them on almost any device, any time, anywhere.

T
he downside to handwritten
notes is worrying about writ-
ing everything down while
trying to hear and remember ev-
erything that was said. But not if
you have the 2GB Sky wifi smart-
pen from Livescribe. It records ev-
erything you write, hear, and say,
and it can automatically deliver
captured content to your free on-
line account.

Never Miss A Word

The 2GB Sky wifi smartpen
can sync the sound it records
with the notes you take. Let’s say
you’re scrambling to keep up in
a meeting or lecture and miss
some important information. Just
tap on your notes and hear the
audio from that moment in time.
Just want an audio recording of a The 2GB Sky™ wifi smartpen from
meeting? Simply press a button on Livescribe lets you access notes and audio
the pen to begin audio capture us- when you need them, on the device you want to use.
ing the pen’s built-in microphone.
Livescribe paper is covered
with thousands of microdots that Wi-Fi signal. If you need the notes accessible via any laptop, smart-
act like a map for your smartpen, right away and aren’t within Wi- phone, or tablet. From Evernote,
allowing it to capture whatever is Fi range, simply use the included you can review your notes, au-
on the page, including drawings USB cable to upload your notes. dio files and pencasts (interactive
and graphs. The smartpen’s 2GB of memory “movies” of your synced notes
provides enough storage to cap- and audio). Evernote also has
To Your Digital World ture 200 hours of audio and thou- tools that allow you to organize,
The smartpen’s built-in Wi-Fi sands of note pages. Livescribe search, and share any of your
and seamless Evernote® integra- includes a dot paper notebook notes or entire notebooks.
tion makes uploads effortless. with 50 sheets to get you started, Digitizing features, Wi-Fi trans-
Even better, Livescribe provides as well as two ink cartridges and fer, broad device support, and
you with an additional 500MB of two smartpen caps. Evernote integration make the
monthly upload capacity, so you’ll 2GB Sky wifi smartpen the per-
have plenty of space to store your Access Any Time, fect accessory for your mobile
notes and audio. To upload, just Anywhere lifestyle. ●
turn the smartpen on when you’re Integration with Evernote means
within range of your home or work that everything you upload will be

10 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

Selecting Your Next Computer
From Tablet To Ultrabook™
Choose The On-The-Go Solution That’s Right For You
Confused about what computer is best for you? This chart breaks down the functional differences among tablet,
laptop, and Ultrabook™ options. As you can see, an Ultrabook™ provides you with the best of all possible worlds,
as you’ll enjoy best features of a laptop combined with the sleek design and portability of a tablet. Of course, you
might want the PC for only a few specific uses, so check our chart to find out what’s best for you.

Tablet Laptop Ultrabook™

What Are
Your Needs?
Portability Less than an inch thick ✓ ✓
All-day battery life ✓ ✓
Detachable and Detachable, flip,
Convertible styles
wireless keyboard slider, and swivel
Email, video chat, and
Office Productivity instant messaging ✓ ✓ ✓
Full size screen & keyboard ✓ ✓
Efficiently create, edit,
and multitask ✓ ✓
Entertainment
Watch, play, and listen
to multimedia ✓ ✓ ✓
Smooth HD playback ✓ ✓
Wireless multimedia streaming ✓ ✓ ✓
Powerful Extras Wakes up in a flash ✓ ✓
Speed boost when you need it
With an Intel Core
i5 or i7 processor ✓
Built-in security to keep files
and identity safe ✓
Don’t Forget To Check Out The New Intel®-Based All-in-One PCs
Stylish AIO PCs are another great space-saving option for those with office productivity and entertainment needs.

Smart Computing / May 2013 11

 It’s Time For A PC Refresh
There Are Some Things Your Old Computer Just Can’t Do
The proliferation of social networking, HD video streaming, online file access, and other new applications has
changed how we use our computers and what we demand of them. Can yours keep up?

T
oday’s applications and web-
sites demand much more from
our computers than they did just
three or four years ago. If you’re tired of
waiting for Web pages to load, applica-
tions to start, or files to open, it may be
time for a new AIO (all-in-one), laptop,
or Ultrabook™—one that can handle
all the things you do today. Intel® tech-
nology is the driving force behind the
best speed and performance features.
Read on to see why now may be the
best time to buy a new PC.

Perfect For Video

Consider how long it takes your You’ll enjoy a whole new world of possibilities with a new AIO,
current system to copy or burn vid- laptop, Ultrabook™, or tablet featuring Intel technology.
eos. Many new Intel®-based AIO,
Ultrabook™ systems, and tablets offer cally ramps up processor performance from theft. This service uses Intel®
Intel’s Quick Sync Video, which can when you run demanding applica- Anti-Theft Technology built into
convert video much faster than a PC tions. This ensures that your computer the hardware to locate and lock a
built just four years ago. You’ll also be will be able to push a bit harder when lost or stolen laptop. It is available
able to enjoy HD video without any necessary and still save energy when on Ultrabook™ devices and 3rd
jitter, and crisp, clear surround-sound idle, providing you with longer battery generation Intel® Core™ powered
audio on many new Intel®-based PCs. life. You’ll find Turbo Boost 2.0 technol- laptops. ●
ogy on many new Intel®-based AIO
Touch Capability desktops and Ultrabook™ devices.
Touch isn’t just for smartphones and
tablets anymore. Now you can enjoy No Waiting By The Numbers
fingertip access to your applications Intel® Rapid Start Technology is How much faster is a new
on AIO desktops and Ultrabook™ another big time-saver, letting you go Ultrabook™ than a 4-year old
convertibles. The touchscreen also lets from standby to running applications PC?*
you control the PC with gestures: Scroll in seconds. And to load files instanta-
through your favorite websites with a neously, many Intel®-based systems t

Y faster resume from
swipe, zoom in or out using the pinch include Intel’s Smart Response Tech- deep sleep
gesture, drag and drop with intuitive nology that remembers the data you t

Y faster 3D gaming
hand and finger motions. access most frequently. performance1
t

Y faster everyday
Performance On Demand Built-in Security computing2
Intel® Turbo Boost 2.0, available on Intel® Anti-Theft Service helps con-
many Intel-based systems, automati- sumers protect their laptop and data

*Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel processors. Performance tests are measured us-
ing specific computers, components, software, operations, and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. "T
NFBTVSFE
CZ 1
3DMark* Vantage, 2 PCMark* 7 Score; /FX
6MUSBCPPL™ Intel® Core™ i5-3317U processor; :FBS
PME
TZTUFN Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8600

12 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

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t NEW! Threat-Removal Layer: Targets and eliminates hard-to-remove threats less sophisticated products often miss.
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Smart Computing / May 2013 13

 Tech Focus

All About
Memory
A Memory Primer

Memory is one of the key components in our computers, storing most

of the data used by the processor to run applications. If there’s too little memory
available for the job, that data will be temporarily placed on a storage device
(such as a hard drive or solid state disk) in your PC.

M
oving data from a storage drive is typi- browsing session. When you launch another pro-
cally much slower than transferring it from gram, system memory loads data from that applica-
memory, so more memory is almost always tion, and any other applications you launch, as well
better than less. We’ll examine why that’s so and as a multitude of background processes.
talk about the different types of memory available. DRAM is often described as volatile storage,
because it relies on power from the computer to
How Memory Works store the data in its circuits; when the computer
System memory, also known as DRAM (pro- is shut down, any data stored in volatile memory
nounced dee-ram; dynamic random access mem- will be lost. (Compare this to SSDs, which utilize
ory), plays the role of messenger between your a nonvolatile flash memory, so any data stored in
computer’s CPU and its main storage, holding all the drive will be saved—even if the computer has
the temporary data your computer needs to run no power.) In modern DRAM memory modules,
programs and background processes until the CPU each bit of data is stored in a capacitor on a circuit
needs it or until it is written semi-permanently to the board. The capacitors are incredibly small—bil-
PC’s main storage, generally consisting of a hard disk lions of bits fit onto a square inch of the board.
drive or SSD (solid state drive). For instance, when To store data onto the module, a charge is sent
you launch Internet Explorer, the system copies all to the circuit, which activates transistors at key
data related to the running of that program from the intersections along the circuit board. The charge
main storage to system memory. As you browse, provides each capacitor with a data value; gener-
system memory plays tag with your browser cache ally, a charge level of less than 50% is a 0, while
to alternately store and display the contents of your anything else is a 1. The processor can read this in-

Smart Computing / May 2013 15

 Tech Focus

This chip from Intel revolutionized memory in DDR SDRAM was found in PC’s built at
computers. Image courtesy of Intel. the turn of the millennium.

formation and pull whatever’s relevant to the task the mid-1970s, when Intel was able to make DRAM
at hand. Think of the data stored in the memory commercially available.
module as a series of mailboxes. Each capacitor The chip that changed everything was Intel’s 1103, a
has an identifying number, much like a mailbox DRAM chip that could hold up to 1024 bits. Although
could be matched with a house address. And like a it seems small now (a modern 4GB module holds 34
mailman picking up a letter, the processor will take billion bits), the Intel 1103 provided opportunity for
the data and direct it where it’s supposed to go. growth in the PC market, because production costs for
DRAM were much less than that of core memory. In-
A Brief History Of Memory tel’s 1103 DRAM was also capable of refreshing that
The roots of today’s DRAM technology began in 1024 bits every two milliseconds.
the late 1960s and early 1970s when Intel released
the first SRAM (static random-access memory) and Types Of Memory
DRAM memory chips. Before Intel designed the cir- Today’s desktop PCs use SDRAM (synchronous
cuits, computers used different technology to per- DRAM) memory modules, while most laptops use SO-
form memory functions. One of the earliest memory DIMMs (small outline dual in-line memory modules).
devices was found in the ENIAC (Electronic Numeri- The difference between the two is that SO-DIMMs
cal Integrator And Computer; arguably the first elec- offer a much more compact design that’s ideal for
tronic computer) in 1945. It featured thousands of portable devices. SDRAM is generally more afford-
vacuum tubes and information was passed down a able than a comparable capacity SO-DIMM, because
mercury-and-nickel wire delay line. Another popular SDRAM is easier and less expensive to manufacture.
option was core memory, unveiled in 1952 at MIT. Memory modules are also differentiated by the type
It consisted of a material that could be magnetized of interface they feature such as DDR (double data
in one of two directions to hold a bit of information. rate), DDR2, and DDR3. Most PCs made in the last
Core memory was the dominate technology until few years use DDR3 memory.

16 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Tech Focus

DDR2 memory offered a lower voltage and Modern high-end DDR3 memory, such as Corsair’s Dominator Platinum
faster speeds than DDR technology. lineup, may include heat spreaders to help remove heat.

At the recent International Solid-State Circuits

Conference, DDR4 DRAM was one of the hot top- DDR Differences
ics. Initially set to be launched in the server mar-
ket sometime in 2013, DDR4 is expected to uti-
lize lower voltages than DDR3, with requirements T he primary differences between the three DDR
types are speed and power efficiency. This chart
shows you how memory technology has evolved
forecast to be around 1.2V. Similar to the change
between DDR2 and DDR3, DDR4 will feature a over the last decade. Peak transfer rate numbers are
different number of pins, so it won’t be backward- listed in MTps (megatransfers per second). Note
compatible with current DDR3 motherboards. That that despite the tremendous speed increases, oper-
said, DDR4 isn’t expected to attain a large portion ating voltage has continuously dropped. The more
of the memory market until 2015, according to a energy-efficient modules help to reduce the power
recent report from iSuppli Research. and heat created by the RAM in your computer.

Modern Memory Capacity DRAM Peak Operating Primary

There are three limiting factors when it comes Standard Transfer Voltage Years Of
Rate Use
to system memory capacity. The first is the current
peak capacity of memory modules available, and DDR 3200 2.5V 1999-
the second is the number of memory slots avail- 2004
able in your motherboard. As of this writing, 2GB, DDR2 8533 1.8V 2005-
4GB, and 8GB modules are widely available. Most 2009
mid-range motherboards come with four memory DDR3 24,000 1.5V 2009-
slots and low-end models can have as few as two. Present
That means that on your average mid-range moth-
erboard, you’ll be limited in practice to 32GB of

Smart Computing / May 2013 17

 Tech Focus

SO-DIMMs are the type of memory Memory is often sold as a kit, such as this set of four Corsair XMS3
you’ll install in notebooks. modules, to take advantage of multi-channel support in motherboards.

system memory, and low-end motherboards will be a maximum speed, as well as a maximum capacity
limited to 16GB. and max number of modules. Memory manufactur-
The third limiting factor is your operating system. ers measure the speed of memory modules in both
32-bit versions of Windows recognize only capaci- MHz (megahertz) and MTps (megatransfers per
ties of 4GB or less. To determine if you’re running a second). For instance, a DDR3-800 module has an
64-bit or 32-bit operating system in Windows Vista/7, 800MHz data transfer rate. The same module may
click Start, right-click Computer, and click Properties. also be listed as PC3-6400, which tells you that it
Look at under the System Type heading and you’ll has a theoretical bandwidth of 6,400MTps.
see whether you’re running a 32-bit or 64-bit operat- Memory is also offered in kits that allow you to im-
ing system. If you’re running Windows 8, press the prove performance by purchasing identical modules.
WIN+X keys to bring up the Power User Menu. Then, Kits are available for dual-channel (two modules),
move your pointer to the bottom left corner of the triple channel (three modules), and quad channel
screen and right-click. Select System and look in the (four modules). The takeaway here is that it’s better
System Type section. If you see “32-bit,” then stick to replace all of your old memory modules instead of
with 4GB of memory. If you see “64-bit,” then feel simply adding more, one stick at a time; doing so al-
free to purchase 4GB or more. lows you to ensure that the new memory modules are
well-matched. Keep in mind that the motherboard in
Check Your Speed your PC must also support a given channel configu-
The faster the memory, the more quickly data will ration, so check with your user’s manual to find out
transfer in and out of the RAM. However, you must what kit would be best for your system.
select a speed that’s compatible with your desktop In the upcoming pages, we’ll cover how to in-
or laptop. (The speed will be noted as part of the stall memory and the difference between memory
label in designations such as DDR3-1333.) The us- and storage, and we’ll also give you some trouble-
er’s manual for your PC or motherboard should list shooting tips—you know, just in case. ●

18 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Tech Focus

How To Install
Memory
A Step-By-Step Guide For Desktops & Notebooks

When a computer’s memory falters, tying a string around your finger

(or the mouse cord) won’t help much. But don’t fret; installing new memory is
one of the least expensive ways to improve your PC’s performance, and it’s
a whole lot easier than you may have thought.

Y
ou’ve probably heard that upgrading memory can
speed up your PC. That’s certainly true—as long
as the sluggish performance is due to a system
memory shortage. As soon as your PC runs out of avail-
able system memory, it turns to virtual memory, which
is just a fancy way of saying that the main storage (a
hard drive, generally) will now act, temporarily, as sys-
tem memory. When this occurs, you’ll notice a dramatic
slowdown, because reading and writing data from and
to a drive is incredibly slow. The hard drive, and even The Corsair Memory Finder utility can help you find
its faster sibling the SSD, were not built to be read and memory modules that will match up with your PC.
written to constantly as you open new programs and
manipulate files during your computing session.
Your PC may need a system memory boost if per-
formance appears to slow down as you launch more will only marginally improve your overall PC perfor-
programs, if your PC is more than three years old and mance, and you may not even notice the difference.
has not already had a system memory upgrade, or if
you know that running multiple applications simulta- Find The Right Memory
neously will bog down your system. If you have plen- If you read our intro piece, you’ll know that there are
ty of system memory already, your problem probably a number of things to consider when investing in new
lies elsewhere; upgrading to slightly faster modules memory. One of the easiest ways to find compatible

Smart Computing / May 2013 19

 Tech Focus

Verify that the locking tabs are disengaged before Insert memory by pressing down firmly
removing the old RAM modules. until the tabs click shut.

memory is to check on a memory vendor’s website. For Now, unless you plan to fill all of the memory
example, Corsair provides a Memory Finder utility (www. slots, you need to determine which modules should
corsair.com/us/learn_n_explore/) that you can use to select go into which slots. For instance, if you are installing
modules that will meet the specifications of your PC. four modules, and you only have two matched pairs
Just select your name brand PC or motherboard from of system memory, you’ll want to make sure each
the drop-down menus, and Corsair will display a list of matched pair is running on one channel. There’s no
modules that will work with your existing setup. Natu- hard-and-fast rule here; motherboard manufacturers
rally, most other memory vendors offer similar tools. occasionally group slots that correspond to the differ-
ent channels together or use different-colored slots to
Install Memory Into A Desktop PC denote channels. The only way to know for sure is to
Begin by powering down the computer and remov- consult your motherboard or PC manual.
ing the power cable. Remove the case side panel to With the new memory in hand, line up the notch in
access the motherboard; make sure to discharge any the module with the key in the slot, and then gently
static electricity by touching a metal portion of the but firmly press straight down on the new module un-
case before touching any of the internal components. til it slides into place. The tabs should engage once a
(Better yet, use an anti-static mat or wristband.) module is fully inserted, but press them inward gently
Next, locate the DIMM slots on the motherboard. if this does not occur. Repeat this process for each
They’re typically labeled as such; they’re long and narrow new module you install.
and generally appear adjacent to the processor socket. Finally, replace the cover on your PC, reattach the
To remove your existing memory modules, press your power cable, and plug it into the wall socket. When
thumbs firmly on the tabs at either side of the slot so that you press the Power button, your PC should boot and
they rotate away from the edges of the module. Also, be- recognize the new memory immediately. To verify that
fore inserting the new memory, make sure to unlock these your new memory is there and is being recognized
tabs on any empty memory slots you plan to fill. by your system, click Start, right-click Computer, and

20 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Tech Focus

Using a mini Philips screwdriver, you should be able to remove the Place the memory at a 45° angle and press down until the retention
back cover of the laptop panel. clips have locked onto the memory.

click Properties. Look at the right side of the window two or three inches wide. The owners manual or
under the Installed Memory heading, and you will see manufacturer’s website will indicate exactly where
the capacity of your system memory. it’s located. To open the back panel, you may need
a mini Philips-head screwdriver. (Note that with
Replace Laptop Memory some notebooks, you may need to use a flathead
Most laptops offer only two slots for RAM, and screwdriver to lift up the keyboard and access the
you may have to remove one or both of the existing RAM from slots beneath the keyboard tray.) After
modules in order to increase the overall amount of you’ve opened the panel, spread the clips on the
memory in your notebook. For example, if the maxi- side of the module and the stick should spring up.
mum capacity of the notebook is 4GB and it features Grab the module by the sides and gently lift.
one 2GB and one 1GB module, you’ll have to remove If there’s a second module, go ahead and remove it
the 1GB stick and install a 2GB stick in its place to as well. Examine the RAM to determine if one of the
increase the amount of RAM. sticks features a smaller capacity than the other; that
To see how many modules are installed on your way if you’re keeping one of modules, you’ll know
notebook, begin by turning off the unit, unplugging it which one you’ll want to reinstall in the laptop.
from the wall outlet, and removing the battery. (This With the case open or back panel removed, ground
way, you won’t feel any jolts of electricity while you’re yourself and then pick up the new module by the
working on the system.) Next, use an anti-static wrist sides. Locate the open slot (or slots) and insert the SO-
strap or ground yourself by touching a nearby piece DIMM at a 45º angle. Move your finger to the back
of metal before you touch any of the internal compo- of the printed circuit board, and push down until the
nents. This will help prevent the static electricity in nearly all of the gold pins are in the socket and the re-
your body from shorting out the notebook’s hardware. tention clips have grabbed the memory. If you have a
Next, flip over the laptop and locate the small second module, repeat the process. Replace the back
panel covering the RAM. Typically, the cover is panel and install the screws. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 21

 Tech Focus

Troubleshoot
Memory
How To Narrow Down The Problem

System memory, or RAM, is just as important as the CPU or motherboard to a

PC’s operation. Fortunately, memory is generally a dependable component,
because the technology is comparatively simple. Still, problems occasionally
occur. We’ll cover some ways to define (and defuse) potential memory issues.

D
amaged memory is most likely to trigger crash-
es during memory-intensive operations, such
as when you’re installing Windows, compiling
video, editing photos, or playing video games. Data
stored in RAM can also become corrupted, resulting
in errors in your applications or in Windows. With
more severe memory damage, non-demanding appli-
cations, such as your Web browser or word proces-
sor, may unexpectedly close or Windows may restart
when the computer is idle. Some motherboards provide LEDs that display debug codes. The
readout displayed may help if you suspect bad RAM.
You Can’t Handle The Power
The DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips
on memory modules are very sensitive to electrostatic
discharge. A static shock, even one so slight you can’t to use a high-quality surge protector, preferably one
feel, could release enough energy to ruin the micro- with automatic voltage regulation.
scopic transistors in the memory. Before touching any
PC components, be sure to ground yourself, or attach Hardware Telltales
an antistatic wrist strap that will help to prevent stat- Sometimes you get lucky and the motherboard
ic discharge. Of course, power surges from the wall will tell you your memory is bad. This often hap-
can have the same effect, which is why it’s important pens early in the bootup process, while the system

22 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Tech Focus

Memory problems can result from a module becoming partially Windows Memory Diagnostic can check
unseated, especially after the system has been moved or jarred. for errors in your system memory.

is running its POST (power on self test). If the POST safe, you can remove the modules and blow out their
detects a bad memory module, the motherboard slots with compressed air to remove any stray dust
may emit a single, continuous (and very annoying) or dirt that might be blocking contact points. Once
beep. Most BIOSes (Basic Input/Output Systems) you’ve removed the RAM, examine it for any cracks
will issue one or three short beeps, depending on or other signs of trouble, such as burn marks. If the
what memory function is faulty. RAM is relatively new and you see any problems,
Another way that some motherboards let you you’ll want to try returning the memory to see if it’s
know about bad memory is with an LED (light-emit- under warranty.
ting diode) readout. This feature is sometimes found It’s also possible that a memory module is bad even
on higher-end motherboards. If there’s a memory absent any physical indications. You can use the Win-
problem, the LED will display a code (the meaing dows Memory Diagnostics utility built into Windows
of which is explained in the manual) pointing to the to test if the memory is faulty. To run the utility in
memory as the source of the problem. Win7, click the Start button and enter Memory into
the Start Search Bar. Under Programs, select Win-
General Troubleshooting dows Memory Diagnostics. At the dialog box, you
You should reseat the memory whenever the PC dis- can choose Restart Now And Check For Problems or
plays inconsistent, hard-to-reproduce system failures. Check For Problems The Next Time I Start My Com-
Be particularly on the lookout for unseated memory puter. Either way, you’ll need to restart your PC to
if you’ve just finished an upgrade or otherwise moved run the utility. For those running Win8, type Control
the system around. You can tell that memory is un- Panel and select it from the Apps section. Click Sys-
seated because the row of gold leads along the bot- tem And Security, choose Administrative Tools, and
tom edge will be partially visible, and it’s likely that select Windows Memory Diagnostic. Choose Check
one of the two locks at each end of the memory slot For Problems The Next Time I Start My Computer and
won’t be fully gripping the RAM module. Just to be Windows 8 will do so. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 23

 Tech Focus

Memory vs.
Storage
What’s The Difference?

Memory is also called RAM (random-access memory), because the data placed
on the circuits in a memory module can be randomly accessed by the proces-
sor. The transfer method differs from data stored on a hard drive, where blocks
of information are semipermanently placed in a specific location.

W
hen the data stored on the drive is needed,
it must be transferred to RAM, where it can
be accessed by the processor—a much
slower process than taking the data directly from the
memory modules.

The Purpose Of Computer Memory

One way to think of RAM is in terms of a hu-
man’s short-term memory. It stores the tasks and
processes that the computer must use in the near
A large kit of memory, such as this 16GB Corsair Vengeance kit,
future, often in mere milliseconds. And like our
can help to ensure your PC always has enough RAM for the job.
short-term memory, the things a computer places
in the memory aren’t designed to be remembered
forever. Any data in RAM will be lost as soon as the
computer shuts down. RAM is also very fast; the speed your PC will gain as a result of adding RAM,
PC is free to continuously replace the information, as most applications, including basic programs
which means you won’t need to wait long for the such as Web browsers, email clients, and multime-
processor to load data from the memory. dia players, won’t use more than 4GB of memory
The more RAM in your computer, the more data at any one time. However, memory-intensive ap-
your PC will be able to store for immediate access. plications, such as image-editing and video-editing
That said, there’s a functional limit to how much apps, can use much larger quantities of RAM.

24 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Tech Focus

SSDs are permanent storage devices that nonetheless As with SSDs, USB thumb drives use flash memory, but in this case,
utilize a form of flash memory. the technology is actually used for semipermanent storage.

to a flash cell a certain number of times—although that

The Purpose Of Computer Storage number is generally quite large, in the hundreds of thou-
If RAM is the short term memory, storage devices such sands. Flash memory is a good alternative to traditional
as HDDs (hard disk drives) or SSDs (solid state drives) hard drives because an HDD is limited by the speed of
function as long-term memory. For example, the C: drive the physical parts used to find and gather data. SSDs can
on most PCs is where Windows stores the files it needs to access data roughly eight to ten times faster than hard
operate. When the computer starts an application, Win- drives, but large-capacity SSDs can be costly. ●
dows gathers of all the information it needs to run the
program by retrieving the necessary files from the drive
where the application files were installed.

Flash vs. RAM vs. HDD Why Go With A Memory Kit

Portable flash drives are so-called because they
use flash memory. Most USB thumb drives, memory G enerally speaking, system memory is sold
in sets of two (for dual-channel), three
(for triple-channel), and four (quad channel).
cards, and SSDs use a type of flash memory that
actually functions more like a traditional HDD than Matched memory modules have the same la-
like RAM. Additionally, flash memory technology tency settings, speeds, and capacities to ensure
can produce storage capacities that are much larger the highest throughput. A system with dual-
than RAM—though not as large as the capacities of channel memory can read and write data to two
current HDDs. memory modules at once. Some of the latest
Flash memory is also much slower than RAM, and processors can also talk to three or four memory
current flash technology also wouldn’t work as well as modules at once, and these are called triple-
RAM for traditional memory processes because flash de- channel and quad-channel systems.
vices have a limited lifespan: Data can only be written

Smart Computing / May 2013 25

 Business Technology

Mobile Marketplace
Business Apps For Android & Windows Phone & iOS

Some powerful business tools are floating in the sea of smartphone apps. Each month, we’ll
highlight some of the best ones for Windows Phone, iOS and Android platform users. (Unless
otherwise noted, Windows Phone apps are available in the Windows Phone Apps & Games
Store, Android apps in Google Play, and iOS apps in Apple’s App Store.)

Conference Calleague Job Search Skyscanner

Windows Phone Windows Phone Windows Phone

Conference calls are a great way If you’re looking for a new ca- If you’re a frequent traveler, then
to cut down on your travel expenses, reer, then you probably already you’ve likely found yourself wait-
but if you happen to be out of the know how powerful Indeed.com’s ing in line to rebook a cancelled
office, attending a conference call job search capabilities are. With flight. With Skyscanner, though,
can be a real hassle. With Confer- Job Search, you can continue you don’t have to wait for anything,
ence Calleague, you can easily dial your hunt right from your smart- just input your location, departure
in right from your Windows Phone. phone. This app lets you perform and return dates, number of pas-
This app lets you create live tiles job searches using keywords, save sengers, one way or round trip,
for upcoming conference calls and searches, display new jobs since whether or not you want a direct
then just tap the icon to join in—no your last search, save or email in- flight, and your class preferences,
manual dialing required. The Calen- dividual job listings, and more. To and then click to search icon to
dar Sync feature lets you keep track get started, just enter a keyword find the best available flights. You
of all your conference calls and can or two into the What box, then can scroll through the results and
pull in meeting phone numbers, input the location in the Where book a flight based on price, du-
bridge and room numbers, and box. Then just click Find Jobs to ration, and more. We particularly
passcodes from more than a dozen start the next phase of your pro- like that you can click the micro-
different call providers. fessional life. phone icon to speak your queries.

26 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

App Of The Month

Slide Shark
Guidebook Image To Text iOS

iOS iOS If you’re often taking to the

road with PowerPoint presen-
Guidebook was made for those The powerful OCR (Optical tations in tow, then you prob-
of us who attend a fair number of Character Recognition) technol- ably assume you need your
conferences, trade shows, and in- ogy built into Image To Text from notebook to effectively show
dustry events. Whether you do it Ricoh Innovations lets you take them off. But with Slide Shark,
before you leave or while stand- photos of text documents and you can display your Power-
ing in line to get your name badge, convert them into editable text Point presentations flawlessly
you can use Guidebook to find documents. The app is easy to use: from your iPad or iPhone, with
the show guide and download it Simply take a photo or navigate to animations, fonts, colors, and
to your iOS-based device for of- a photo from your gallery and the graphics intact. Once you’ve
fline use. The app lets you access app generates a separate docu- created an account, you can
maps, floor plans, and contact in- ment with the text extracted from upload PowerPoint files from
formation. We also liked that you it. Once complete, you can send your phone, tablet, or PC. Be-
can search for people, places, and the image and text documents in cause it supports basic ges-
more; check out the in-app Twitter email or post them to Evernote. tures, navigating slides is quick
feed for the latest information; and Unlike some OCR apps, this one and intuitive. The app also lets
take photos at the event and share lets you use it without registering you share the presentations and
them in the app for others to see. an account. keep track of the file views.

Smart Computing / May 2013 27

 Business Technology

Battery Monitor Widget Credit Karma Mobile WifiPass

Android Android Android

If you’re the type who wants to You already know how important If you have places at which
know the nitty gritty of your smart- your credit score is, but with Credit you frequently use Wi-Fi, you can
phone’s battery life, then check out Karma Mobile, you can improve store your passwords and share
the Battery Monitor Widget, from your credit rating, get your free credit them with your friends so they
developer 3c. This app lets you see score, and get other financial advice. don’t need to ask or type out the
the percent remaining charge, volt- This app is free, the credit report is passwords to get online. Like-
age, and temperature data as report- free, and you can even get access to wise, your friends can share their
ed by Android OS. You can display on-the-go credit monitoring without hotspot passwords with you to save
the widget in a number of sizes (2x1, registering with a credit card. The you some time. You can even store
3x1, and 4x1), add history markers app’s Credit Report Card can also your collection of Wi-Fi passwords
on boot to help you determine if a flag items on your credit report that in the cloud, so you have access
particular app is draining the bat- negatively impact your score. The to them wherever you go. The app
tery, and view a graphical represen- app also sends you notifications any- also reminds you when you are
tation of your battery usage to help time there’s a change in your credit nearby a Wi-Fi network for which
you rein in your usage. We also like report so you can mitigate credit you have a password. You can also
the variety of battery meters you can card or bank account fraud before tap into your Facebook friends list
display on your home screen. things get out of hand. to establish new shares.

28 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

Time For A VPN?

They’re Not Just For Big Companies Anymore

A virtual private network “tunnels” through the Internet, creating a secure link between
remote computers and your home or office network.

Y
ou’ve probably heard about could bring to bear technical and fi- really a tunnel. Here’s how it actually
VPNs—virtual private net- nancial resources that were beyond works: Data is sent over the Internet in
works: This is software that es- the reach of a small-time businessper- packets. A VPN encrypts each packet
tablishes a secure link to your home son running a 10-person company that and then encloses it in another packet.
or office network so that you can ac- manufactures widgets. That double-enclosure, coupled with
cess that network while on the road. That’s no longer true. VPNs are encryption, serves to make the data
When you use a VPN to log in to becoming more and more common, doubly secure. Somewhere along the
your office network, it feels as if you they’re affordable, and they’re easy line, someone decided that this dou-
really were sitting at your desk back to set up. In fact, you may already ble enclosure constituted the virtual
at your home or office. You have ac- own all the software you need and equivalent of a tunnel. Just go with it.)
cess to everything that you’d have not even know it. Not only is the connection intend-
back at the shop: programs, docu- ed to be secure, it’s also programmed
ments, email, printers, intranet, etc. What’s a VPN? to shut down and reroute the data
There was a time when VPNs were Let’s start with some basic back- packets if it’s attacked. Remember that
reserved for larger institutions: Sure, ground. A VPN is a secure connection the whole point of the Internet is to
the CEO of a major insurance com- that uses the Internet to set up a virtual provide multiple paths for data to fol-
pany could have a VPN. After all, he “tunnel” through which you can con- low: If one node (or a dozen nodes)
or she was part of a big company that nect to your network. (Ok, there’s not goes down, traffic is rerouted to other

Smart Computing / May 2013 29

 Business Technology

nodes; if those nodes are also non-

functional, traffic is re-rerouted. This
continues until it finds a workable
Blurring The Line Between Work & Home
path that allows the sender to get the
data to the correct recipient.
This protection helps maintain the
L ike smartphones, tablets, and the rest, VPNs encourage produc-
tivity; your employees (and yourself) can grab assets from (or
deliver them to) the work network, no matter where they happen to
VPN’s secure connection, but it can be: a coffee shop, an airport, or a hotel room.
actually cause problems, some of But there is a downside to all of this connectivity: The more we
which we’ll discuss momentarily. take advantage of it, the more we continue to blur the line between
A VPN is an example of a “client- work and home.
server” architecture. That may sound Is that a bad thing? Well, it depends. You certainly want to get the
complicated, but it simply means most out of your employees—and one assumes that you appreciate
that the VPN software itself runs on a the fact that they’re willing to work from home or after hours. (And
server back in your office (or at a pro- we further assume that you find ways to show that appreciation.) But
vider’s, if you opt to pay a service to some analysts have concluded that two thirds of U.S. employees work
host your VPN), while each computer even during their vacations. That may help the bottom line in the short
(or, these days, each mobile device) term, but the jury’s out as far as what its effect might be over the long
that connects uses either a Web con- haul. Employee burnout is a very real (and costly) problem.
nection or a small “client” applica-
tion that knows how to communicate
with the VPN software back home on
your office server. So there are two You may hear both types being nothing else, they can point you to
parts to a VPN: the large piece that discussed, but in the context we’re VPN hosting companies that might
runs on the server and a freestanding considering here, you’re more likely be worth checking out.)
app that’s installed on each device to be interested in the former type of
and that knows how to communicate VPN than in the latter. Potential “Gotchas”
with the server. We’re talking technology here;
Hosted Or In-House? that means that there is, as always,
Types of VPNs If you’re already running servers the potential for problems. The two
When we talk about a VPN in a at your place of business, then add- most common problems manifest
typical business context, we usually ing a VPN server is no big deal—es- themselves as a very slow connec-
mean a remote-access VPN, such as pecially if you happen to have an tion, though their causes differ.
we’ve been describing. If you have in-house tech person to handle the Keep in mind that when you
a home office and remote or travel- nuts and bolts. If you’re a three-man connect via a VPN, it feels as if
ing employees (salespeople, for ex- (or –woman) shop, then you may you’re on the office network—but
ample) who wish to access the office not have any tech help, nor any real you’re not. You’re someplace far
while on the road, this is the sort of servers, other than something that away, and every time you send a
VPN they’ll use. serves as shared storage for files that request to the server at home, it
There’s also another type of VPN, might be needed by multiple peo- must upload data to you from the
called a “site-to-site VPN.” This one ple. If that’s the case, consider going VPN server. (Yes, you’re down-
connects multiple fixed locations, with a hosting company. There are loading that huge Photoshop file,
say, a home office and its several dozens of reputable hosting servic- but from the perspective of the
branch offices. As you might expect, es; in fact, you may already be utiliz- server, it’s an upload.) That matters,
this sort of VPN really is reserved ing a hosting company—perhaps for because while you may have ex-
mainly for large companies, since your website, company blog, or in- cellent download speeds at home,
it’s meant to connect multiple fixed tranet—that also offers VPN hosting your provider’s upload speeds are
offices, rather than to link remote us- services. Check to see if they offer typically less (often significantly
ers to one office. services of which you’re unaware. (If less) than its download speeds.

We’re talking technology here; that means that there is,

as always,the potential for problems.

30 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

If you own and use a copy of Windows Server, you may already have all the VPN software you need,
since that functionality is included with many versions of this popular server package.

If you’re trying to make this work often enough, the VPN connection server software, you may already
with large files and inadequate up- may become so slow as to be use- have all the VPN software you need
load speeds, you’ll have trouble, less. (The lesson? Check your wir- as part of the server package you
and that trouble will show up as an ing—all the way out to the Inter- purchased. All you need to do is
excruciatingly slow VPN connec- net connection—and don’t invest install, configure, and deploy it. It’s
tion. (The lesson here? Check with any time or money in a VPN until normally excellent software, and it’s
your provider to see what your you’re comfortable that it will be been tested in the field for years.
upload speed should be. Then test communicating over wiring that’s You’ve already paid for it, so why
to make sure that’s actually what in decent shape.) not get some use out of it?
you’re getting.) There are also some excellent
Then there’s the problem of wir- Where To Buy A VPN open-source VPN tools. These can
ing. Old buildings may (and often Trust the specialized vendors serve you well, especially if you
do) have old wiring. If the wiring in and the business equipment stores, have on staff (or can contract) an
your office (or the wiring to which such as Staples. They have the IT person to install and configure
your office connects) is several equipment you’ll need, the per- them. However, support options can
years old, you may find that your sonnel to explain how to use it, vary from decent to nonexistent.
connection will drop packets. But and the expertise to steer you in
that’s not the real problem. The real the right direction. Level The Playing Field
problem is that your VPN software If you don’t have an IT person VPN software is yet another ex-
may interpret those dropped pack- on staff, it might be worth con- ample of complex technology that’s
ets as evidence of an attack, and tracting with one to help set up trickled down to small business,
will then shut down the connection your VPN. On the other hand, if allowing those small businesses to
and attempt to reroute the com- you’re planning to go with a host- derive from that technology some
munication. If packets continue ing service, they’ll do almost all of of the same benefits enjoyed by the
to drop, the VPN may continually the heavy lifting. big boys. Time for you to step out
shut down, restart, and (attempt to) Keep in mind that if you’re run- onto that—now much more level—
reroute the packets. If that happens ning Windows Server or some other playing field. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 31

 Business Technology

Network Attached
Storage
Common Questions

At a basic level, NAS devices function as miniature servers

where you can store files that everyone needs to access.

W
hen we think of storage, network users. One solution? NAS, Setting up a NAS device typically
we normally envision a or network-attached storage. involves little more than filling it
hard drive inside a com- with hard drives (the same types
puter, holding the operating system,
applications, and all of the files used
by that computer. Although it’s pos-
Q: What exactly is a NAS? Is us-
ing one very complicated?
of internal hard drives you would
use in a computer) and attaching
an Ethernet cable, which runs to
sible to share files from a computer’s
hard drive, the process requires the
PC to be on and connected to the
A: There’s nothing all that
complicated about setting
up and using a NAS. A NAS de-
a port on your router. Once in-
stalled, the NAS can be config-
ured using the software included
LAN (local area network) with file- vice is a specially-designed appli- with the unit. Each PC user can
sharing features enabled. Many PC ance that groups one or more disk then access the NAS. Modern
users don’t want to leave their sys- drives together and connects them SOHO (small and home office)
tems on all the time or risk security directly to an existing LAN, using NAS units make the setup process
issues by allowing access to other an ordinary Ethernet connection. almost automatic.

32 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

NAS systems are built with the same type of The software included with the NAS will provide you with a utility to
hard drives you’ll find in a PC. manage access and to determine how files are stored.

Q: Why bother putting storage

on the network? Is it better
than direct-attached storage?
NAS. If there are PC users who
don’t need access, don’t add the
network share to their PCs. (The
network administrator, but it’s a
worthwhile investment when ac-
cess to sensitive data must be re-
result will be that they won’t even stricted.

A: NAS devices provide one

place to share data, so that
anyone on the network can effi-
see the NAS in windows and dia-
log boxes that display their inter-
nal and network drives.) Q: What types of data can you
store on a NAS? Can you run
ciently transfer files to or from the When you do install the net- applications?
shared storage. Since a NAS is op- work share on a user’s PC, she will
timized as a file server, network
users will typically get better ac-
cess performance from a NAS than
need to log in with a user name
and password to access the NAS.
In addition, the NAS can usually
A: You can store any kind of data
on a NAS. Home users can
store family photos, music files, va-
they would by simply attempting be configured with permissions for cation videos, or backups of other
to share files from the hard drives various combinations of network important data such as electronic
in an ordinary PC (which is not users and NAS folders, so you can tax returns and so on. Small busi-
optimized as a file server). In ad- authorize certain users to have ac- ness users may use a NAS to store
dition, the NAS consumes a lot cess to different files and folders customer databases, document and
less power than a full computer, than other users. Beyond that, us- email archives, PowerPoint presen-
so you can leave the NAS running ers may be given either read/write tations, and graphics and other busi-
on the network constantly, so us- or read-only permission for files. ness artwork.
ers can access data anytime—not The control can be quite granular, Theoretically, you can install and
just when someone’s PC is on. so it all depends on how you (or run applications from a NAS, but ap-
Data security is something that the network administrator) set up plication performance can become
you need to think about when the NAS. a serious problem, thanks to band-
setting up the NAS. You’ll need As you might imagine, tighten- width issues and other obstructions.
to add the NAS network share to ing access controls takes more Remember that a PC will need to
each PC that needs access to the time and effort on the part of the load the program from a NAS device

Smart Computing / May 2013 33

 Business Technology

A NAS device provides an excellent way to back up RAID configurations allow you to duplicate data so it
the files stored in your Windows Libraries. will still be available if one hard drive crashes.

across an Ethernet network. Many portant to review the maximum you use a NAS simply as JBOD (Just
users may be accessing the network allowable drive specs for any NAS a Bunch Of Disks), a disk failure
at any given moment. Network con- that you’re planning to purchase. A would result in the loss of any data
tention may thus cause the major NAS device often ships without hard on that drive. Most NAS systems in-
delays. drives. However, it’s not necessary clude support for RAID, technology
The general rule is to install appli- to fill every drive bay in the unit right that groups disks together to provide
cations on each individual user’s PC, away. Many NAS systems connect some level of redundancy, which
and then let the users store their data drives via hot-swappable trays, so helps prevent data loss. RAID is very
on the NAS. For example, you would you can easily add more drives later effective, but will reduce the total
install Microsoft Office on each PC, without powering down the NAS. available space on the NAS.
but store documents created in Office For example, RAID 1, also
on the NAS so that the data can easily
be shared. It’s not much different than a
PC with two hard drives: A user of such
Q: How much storage capacity
can a NAS offer? How does
RAID (redundant array of indepen-
known as mirroring, is a configura-
tion in which the contents of one
disk are replicated to another disk.
a PC could install the operating system dent disks) affect storage capacity? This is simple, but cuts your total
and applications on the C: drive and storage in half. Let’s say that we
then store data on the D: drive.
A: The total storage capacity of a
NAS depends on the number of
built the unit with 24TB of stor-
age and installed RAID 1. You’ll

Q: What kind of drives does

a NAS use? Can I add or
change drives over time?
drives that a unit can hold, multiplied
by the maximum size of each drive. For
example, a NAS that holds up to eight
now have 12TB of effective storage
for users (four disks at 3TB each,
with another four disks at 3TB that
SATA hard drives, where each drive mirror that content). A NAS with a

A: NAS systems use the same

types of drives that appear in
your PC. Most newer systems will
can be 3TB (terabytes), could yield up
to 24TB of storage.
Keep in mind, though, that you
RAID is ideal for businesses that
need to ensure that the data stored
on your NAS is always available,
use SATA (Serial Advanced Tech- may want to use some of that stor- even in the event that one or more
nology Attachment) drives. It’s im- age capacity to protect your data. If of the RAID drives fails. ●

34 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

Sky’s The Limit

Doing Business in The Cloud

D
on’t make the mistake of a pay-as-you-go basis, spending ent to you. All you care about is
thinking that “the cloud” is only what you need to, and only as that it’s there when you need it.
only for large companies; those services are required. And therein lies at least part of the
these days, even small businesses The fact that you may not know rub. Your data—or in some cases,
are heading for the cloud. In fact, where these servers are, physically, the cloud-based software you use—
if you’re using Office 365, Google and that you don’t know on which is not under your control. It lives
Docs, or other Web-based services, server or servers your data resides, somewhere else and is controlled
you’re already relying on the cloud. is a key to true cloud computing. by some other company; if it goes
But let’s start by defining some You may not have any control over down (and it will, sometime), there’s
terms. What is “the cloud,” exactly? where the servers are: Your data not much you can do about it. Al-
Different people and companies could reside on just one server in though your provider will certainly
define it differently. For our pur- one location, or various chunks of do its best to serve you, it does not
poses, and to keep things relevant your data could reside on multiple care about your business as much as
even to your (possibly very small) servers all over the world. In fact, you do. It can’t. After all, it has to
business, let’s define it this way: although some companies opt to care about its own business first.
The cloud is an amorphous group pay extra in order to control where
of servers whose size, type, and their data resides, true cloud com- Why The Cloud?
location may in fact be unknown puting is sometimes said to include Still, there are excellent reasons to
to you, and on which you either the assumption that you neither move to the cloud. And while ana-
store data or from which you re- know nor care where your data lysts such as James Alexander, a se-
ceive some sort of software service. lives; your cloud provider will, in nior vice president at Info-Tech Re-
(Hence a term you may have heard: fact, stash data all over the world, search Group, point out that in the
SaaS—software as a service.) In depending on where the provider long run you may not end up saving
fact, another way to think of cloud can get the best rates. In theory, money, you can often save a great
computing is as utility-based com- you shouldn’t care about that, be- deal in up-front costs, in the same
puting: In the cloud reside software cause when you access the data, way that one might lease a car to re-
services that you can purchase on the location of the data is transpar- duce one’s initial capital investment.

Smart Computing / May 2013 35

 Business Technology

The important thing, notes Al- based retailer and your two days of in the cloud is not really cheaper.
exander, “is to identify the real downtime occur just before Christ- “Going to the cloud to save money
reason you’re considering going to mas, well, that can have an impact. is like going to the casino for the
the cloud. Maybe you have only Integration. Consider how well free drinks,” he says. In the end,
one IT guy and, rather than have your cloud service integrates with vendors—like casinos—need to
him spend time managing things, the data and applications on your make money. One way or another,
you want him to focus more stra- internal servers. The less integration you’ll pay for the services you re-
tegic pursuits. Or maybe you like you require, the easier your move to quire. Still, cloud computing is a
the fact that the cloud lets you be the cloud. good way to reduce up-front costs
more mobile.” Network reliability. If your inter- while taking advantage of the mo-
nal network isn’t reliable, don’t for- bility, additional resources, and
Cloud Considerations get that you’ll still be accessing your scaling that it offers.
If you’re considering the cloud, cloud services through that same Utility-based computing allows
Alexander says that there are five network. If you need to increase you to offload some infrastructure,
important points to keep in mind: bandwidth to improve reliability, but in the end, it’s still your re-
Security and compliance. With that may be an unexpected cost. sponsibility. “Watch out for cost-
some industries, cloud comput- Relationship management. Small creep,” says Alexander. “It’s like
ing may not make sense because business owners tend to sign con- your cell phone bill. You have to
of regulatory issues. Maintaining a tracts with lots of fine print and then be vigilant and ensure that you’re
compliant set of medical or finan- just hope for the best. You need to be not paying for more seats than you
cial records is different than keeping willing to take the contract out of the need, and that you’re getting what
sales records, especially if you don’t drawer and ensure that the vendor you’re paying for.”
know where the records are housed. adheres to the agreed-upon terms. Alexander’s final advice for
Availability and reliability. Ven- small businesses? “Although by go-
dors promise (and usually deliver) It’s Your Business, After All ing to the cloud you can outsource
excellent uptime, but it’s never Again, analysts such as Alexan- the tasks, you can never outsource
100%. And if you’re a small Internet- der say that, long term, working the responsibility.” ●

36 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Business Technology

Building Your Business

Choose An App Or Accessory Ecosystem For Your Products

The Microsoft software ecosystem encompasses X86 desktop software, Google Play has the most users, but the wide variety of devices that
as well as mobile software used on smartphones and tablets. can download and use your app may complicate your development.

F
or businesses that manufacture before you have a product ready to
or design hardware or software Not Too Big, Not Too Small sell, but that’s not always possible.
products, few decisions have If the product you’re peddling is If your product’s target user is less
more impact on your success or fail- fairly specialized, then you need to specialized, then you can effectively
ure than the ecosystem you choose. work a little harder at finding your use multiple ecosystems, from Web-
Whether it’s a mobile app or desktop audience. Where do the buyers of based to brick-and-mortar retail. But
software you’ve developed, a smart- specialized products such as yours here too, you’ll need to find ways to
phone accessory, or a line of snarky go to buy? Are your customers all generate buzz. Undeniably, the Web
T-shirts you’ve designed, the ecosys- relatively similar or do age, gender, is the biggest ecosystem available to
tem you choose will determine how income, and education vary widely? businesses of all sizes, and the bar-
your target market discovers, learns If there are several commonalities rier to entry is relatively low. But be-
about, and ultimately buys your of- among your target audience, you cause it’s so large and so crowded,
fering. Choose poorly, and you can can safely select a more targeted people actually need digital tour
kiss your profits goodbye; what’s ecosystem. For instance, if you sell guides, or search engines, to help
worse, you may never know wheth- image-processing software for Mac- them find the information they’re
er the failure was due to the product based operating systems, then you’ll seeking. If you want to sell your
or to how it was marketed. Choose want to get your product listed in the product in the biggest pond around,
wisely, on the other hand, and yours Apple Store. Ideally, this sort of plan- make waves using SEO (search en-
could be the next billion dollar IPO. ning should be taking place well gine optimization).

If you want to sell your product in the

biggest pond around, make waves using SEO
(search engine optimization).

Smart Computing / May 2013 37

 Business Technology

Apple’s App Store is one of the largest app ecosystems The Windows Phone app store is the smallest of
you’ll find, but getting exposure may be difficult. the big three, but it’s growing quickly.

smartphone users is the largest out

Cost Hurdles Open, Closed, Or Hybrid there. (Android also supports the
Depending on the ecosystem you Closed development environments, second-largest tablet audience.)
choose, you may need to pay a re- like Apple’s, means that apps devel- Windows Phone is the relative new-
curring fee to have your product oped for the App Store will only work comer, and it operates within a hybrid
listed in the digital marketplace or on Apple-made hardware. The upside environment: While Nokia manufac-
stocked on the shelves. Some eco- here is that you know every user who tures Microsoft’s flagship phones, other
systems even charge a percentage downloads your app will be getting manufacturers also offer Windows
of the final sale price, which will an identical experience, device gen- Phones. Microsoft’s platform also cov-
definitely eat into your profits. Soft- eration notwithstanding. Apple does ers PCs running Windows 8, so there’s
ware developers, especially app charge higher fees than other smart- a potential to reach a massive audience
developers, have quite a range of phone OS makers, and you’ll be forced that goes beyond just mobile. Micro-
ecosystem choices they can make, to use Apple’s in-app billing system, soft also has a fairly robust developer
choosing among Apple, Google, which may conflict with your plans. community in place to assist those new
Windows Phone, and more. An app on Google Play will run to the platform.
Google Android is thought to have on devices from a variety of device
the lowest cost of entry, but that manufacturers, with varying screen Ecosystem Roulette
means your app has more competi- resolutions, wireless capabilities, For most small businesses, there’s
tion there, and getting noticed may cameras, processing power, and no reason you need to bet the future
be more difficult. Apple and Mi- more. Developing your app when of the company on any one ecosys-
crosoft’s respective platforms each so many variables are at play can be tem. Many organizations may choose
have a higher cost of entry, but the complicated and may leave some a platform on which to launch their
former provides a wider audience users with a less-than-satisfactory product and then iterate based on
of users and the latter can let you experience. On the positive side, feedback, moving to other ecosystems
easily transition your mobile app developing apps for Android-based as the user base expands. Now all you
into one that works on Windows devices is considered fairly transpar- have to do is develop the next big
8-based desktops and notebooks. ent, and the audience of Android thing we just can’t live without. ●

38 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

Smart Computing is produced by Sandhills Publishing. Founded in 1978, Sandhills Publishing is an information pro-
cessing company with a diverse range of products covering a variety of industries. Sandhills Publishing is located in
Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska, and benefits from the quality of life and strong work ethic traditionally associated
with the Midwest.
 Personal Technology

All About Bluetooth

The Do-It-All Wireless Protocol

This logo is your is your first clue that the device you’re holding
offers more wireless capabilities than just Wi-Fi.

B
luetooth has been a popular 2017 there may be as many as up to 24MBps using Bluetooth high
short-range, low-power wire- 20 billion cumulative Bluetooth- speed. Like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is ca-
less standard for more than a enabled devices shipped. pable of transmitting and receiving
decade now, but the technology data through walls and solid objects,
seems to be just coming of age How It Works but it can do so using only a fraction
rather than growing long in the Bluetooth technology uses radio of Wi-Fi’s power.
tooth. Chances are you currently waves in the 2.4GHz frequency Ease of use is one of Bluetooth’s
own a Bluetooth-capable device. spectrum to transmit voice, music, biggest benefits. Users can con-
But there is a very high likeli- photos, video, and other data be- nect and share data by simply
hood that your next smartphone, tween Bluetooth-enabled devices. pairing two Bluetooth-enabled
tablet, PC, notebook, car—and Like any standard that’s been around devices. Pairing consists of en-
maybe even your next pair of run- for a while, Bluetooth has under- abling Bluetooth functionality in
ning shoes—will have Bluetooth gone several revisions. Depending each device and configuring them
built in. ABI Research says that 2 on the device class, Bluetooth can to recognize each other. After a
billion Bluetooth-enabled prod- communicate at a range of up to 3 quick device-specific confirma-
ucts shipped worldwide in 2012 feet (Class 3), 33 feet (Class 2), and tion, the two devices can begin
alone. According to the Bluetooth 328 feet (Class 1); and at a rate of up sharing data, audio/video streams,
SIG (special interest group), in to 3MBps (Megabits per second) and and more.

There is a very high likelihood that your next smartphone,

tablet, PC, notebook, car—and maybe even your next pair of running
shoes—will have Bluetooth built-in.

42 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

Even devices that support the latest revisions of Bluetooth can still swap files with legacy devices,
like this one. The small integrated circuit on the left is this PDA’s Bluetooth chip.

error correction with voice transmis- transmission. Because this portion of

Bluetooth Flavors sion, with some increased latency. the protocol requires Wi-Fi, it is not
Bluetooth is popping up in a wide Devices that support this version of mandatory for all Bluetooth 3.0 de-
range of consumer electronics for Bluetooth are most commonly used vices. If this high-speed AMP (Alter-
a number of different applications, for simple file transfers and voice. nate Mac/PHY) feature is something
some of which may surprise you. It’s The Bluetooth v2.0 + EDR (en- you want to take advantage of, both
a low-range specification that uses hanced data rate) core specification devices must support the “+ HS”
an energy-efficient means of trans- allows enabled devices to transfer portion of the revision.
mission for small-sized data trans- data at up to 3Mbps and save power The latest revision, Bluetooth
fers. It’s also capable of handling data by operating in a reduced-power v4.0, encompasses Classic Blue-
transmissions at similar speeds as the mode. Thanks to secure simple pair- tooth, Bluetooth high-speed and
latest Wi-Fi standards. It can stream ing (SSP), this revision also enables Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) pro-
audio, perform one-off file transfers, users to more easily pair devices. tocols. Bluetooth low-energy is
and act as a simple and secure de- These devices tend to support stereo based on Nokia’s former Wibree
vice-pairing protocol before handing audio streaming, thus adding to the low-power wireless technology.
off the data transmission heavy lifting list of Bluetooth’s capabilities. As the name implies, the technol-
to another protocol entirely. But with Bluetooth v3.0 + HS became part ogy is designed for extremely low
so many applications, it’s hard to nail of the core specification in 2009, power applications and devices
the protocol down. and boosted the maximum poten- that can go weeks, months, and
The Bluetooth devices you’ll find tial data rates to up to 24Mbps. up to and beyond a year between
for sale these days will fall into one Bluetooth v3.0 + HS manages this recharges or battery replacement.
of five Bluetooth specifications. De- eight-fold increase in throughput by Devices, called Bluetooth Smart
vices that support Bluetooth v1.2 are handling only the negotiation and devices, include wearable gadgets,
typically considered legacy devices. link establishment between the two such as watches, pedometers, and
They’re backward compatible with communicating devices. Once the heart-rate monitors; sensors used
previous versions of the protocol link is open, the 802.11 Wi-Fi radios in healthcare, automotive, gaming,
and support the ability to perform transmit and receive the bulk of the and sports; home entertainment

Smart Computing / May 2013 43

 Personal Technology

You can inexpensively add Bluetooth to your PC or notebook Bluetooth headsets such as this one can use the A2DP (Advanced
using one of these diminutive USB adapters. Audio Distribution Profile) to transmit one-way stereo audio.

equipment and remotes; wireless how Bluetooth devices commu- compatible devices and fax-capa-
keyboards and mice; toys that can nicate with Bluetooth-capable ble printers.
sense the presence of other toys; keyboards, mice, and other in- Two profiles commonly used for
and more. The wireless communi- put devices. Bluetooth-capable file exchange are Object Exchange
cation standard is expected to work mice work without wires, whether (OBEX) and Generic Object Ex-
in devices powered by diminutive you’re at your desktop or on the change Profile (GOEP). Both pro-
button cell batteries, so virtually road. The HID profile is also being files let compatible devices swap
any low-power device that could used in devices that once typically pictures, documents, business
benefit from wireless communica- used infrared, such as TV and ste- cards, and other files over a Blue-
tion is a potential candidate. reo remote controls. tooth connection.
Bluetooth-capable devices that Bluetooth-capable devices that
Bluetooth Profiles support the Music profile can employ the Video Distribution
To simplify all of these capabili- wirelessly stream music from an Profile (VDP) can stream videos.
ties, The Bluetooth SIG created a audio source to a wireless stereo Another profile that falls under
handful of profiles, each with its headset, car stereo, or Bluetooth the Transfer icon umbrella is the
own icon, to help you determine speaker system. The Advanced Dial-up Networking Profile (DUN),
what the device can do. Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) which defines how devices can ac-
Devices that carry the Headset defines how a multi-channel au- cess the Internet and other dial-up
icon, for instance, can use Blue- dio source is streamed over via services via Bluetooth.
tooth to transmit audio and voice Bluetooth.
signals between headphones, audio The Basic Printing Profile (BPP) Many Ways To Do Wireless
sources, headsets, and mobile de- governs how Bluetooth devices Bluetooth is capable of being al-
vices. Many Bluetooth headsets also send text, emails, vCards (elec- ternately low-power, high-speed,
feature echo- and noise-canceling tronic business cards), images, and medium-range, short-range, HD,
technologies to improve call quality. other documents to printers. The and more. In fact, it’s so flexible that
The Human Interface Device Fax Profile (FAX) can also be used some have called it the Swiss army
Profile (HID) is responsible for to wirelessly send faxes between knife of wireless protocols. ●

44 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

How To Install
A Graphics Card

This double-slot graphics card supports monitors The blue PCI-Express slot shown here has a locking tab on the
with DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI inputs. far right that keeps the graphics card in place.

C
ompared to other computer typically white, that transmit un-
components, the world of Find The Right compressed digital video signals
video cards changes quick- Graphics Card to your monitor. The blue port is
ly. What was top-of-the-line last Most PCs manufactured in the called VGA (Video Graphics Ar-
year is middle-of-the-pack now, last five years use PCI-E slots for dis- ray) or D-sub, and it transmits ana-
and high-performers from two crete graphics cards, but older PCs log video signals to your monitor.
years ago may not even be avail- may only feature AGP (Accelerated Many modern graphics cards have
able. Thus, if you want to get the Graphics Port) or PCI slots. Once DisplayPort and HDMI (High-Defi-
most from sophisticated software you determine which interface your nition Multimedia Interface) ports.
such as games or photo/video- computer’s motherboard uses, you Make sure the graphics card you
editing programs, you’ll probably can shop for a graphics card that uti- select has an interface that your
need to replace your desktop com- lizes that interface. current monitor supports.
puter’s video card during the PC’s Also note the display outputs. Mid- and high-end graphics
lifespan. We’ll show you how to Most current graphics cards have cards typically require supplemen-
pick a suitable video card for your one or more long rectangular DVI tary power from the power supply,
PC and explain how to install it. (Digital Visual Interface) ports, usually in the form of one or more

Many modern graphics cards have DisplayPort

and HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
ports. Make sure the graphics card you select has an
interface that your current monitor supports.

Smart Computing / May 2013 45

 Personal Technology

Don’t remove the old graphics card without undoing Line up the card’s connectors with the motherboard
the locking mechanism on the PCI-E or AGP slot. slot and press down to seat it properly.

6-pin or 8-pin PCI-E power connec- ics driver. To do this in Window 7, Change from the top of the win-
tors. Make sure your power supply start by clicking Start, Control Panel dow, and then follow the instruc-
has the appropriate number of un- (in Category view), and then click tions. When removal is complete,
used power connectors. If you have Uninstall A Program from the Pro- the system will restart. Next, you’ll
to resort to power adapters, your grams category. If you run Windows want to shut the system down com-
graphics card might not be powerful 8, right-click the bottom left corner pletely. Turn off the power supply
enough to handle the added strain. and select Control Panel. Then, se- where the power cable attaches
Finally, make sure the graphics lect Uninstall A Program from the to the PC, and remove the case’s
card you buy will fit in your case; Programs category. side panel. Make sure to touch the
low-profile cases require low-profile If you see listed tools associ- metal portion of the case frame
cards. Many graphics cards are also ated with your old card, click the to dissipate any static electricity,
double-slot, meaning they take up item(s), click Change or Uninstall/ and unplug the power cord from
two expansion slots on the mother-
board. Most high-end graphics cards
are longer and typically won’t fit in
mid-tower and smaller cases.
Disable Integrated Graphics
How To Install The
Graphics Card
Once you’ve selected your new
If your PC currently doesn’t have a graphics card, you may need
to disable the integrated graphics chip on the motherboard be-
fore you install a card. Restart the computer and watch the splash
graphics card, installing it yourself screen to see which key you’ll need to press to bring up the BIOS
is relatively painless. Simply fol- (Basic Input/Output System), which is an area where you can
low these instructions in order, and make changes to the key hardware on your PC. Once the BIOS is
you’ll be pleasing your peepers in open, find the section, such as Video or System Settings, where
no time. you can either disable the integrated video or force the PC to use
Uninstall drivers. The first step an add-in video card.
is to uninstall the existing graph-

46 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

Once installed, just connect your monitor to the It’s best to download the newest drivers
appropriate port and then feast your eyes. from the card manufacturer’s website.

the power supply. Also remove the unlatch the PCI-E (or AGP, as the manufacturer’s website. You can
monitor cable, audio cables, USB case may be) slot’s locking mecha- find these on the support pages for
cables, and any other peripherals nism, and then gently lift the card whichever brand of graphics card
attached to the PC. straight out of the slot. you purchased. Look for a section
Out with the old. With your PC In with the new. If necessary, labeled something similar to Sup-
shut down and disconnected from use a can of compressed air to en- port, Downloads, or Drivers. Once
the main power, you can now go sure that the graphics slot is clear the file has downloaded, run it and
about the task of removing your of dust, and then carefully slide follow the on-screen instructions.
old graphics card. (What? There your new graphics card into the Note that your monitor may go
is no graphics card? See the “Dis- topmost available graphics slot. dark momentarily (so don’t panic
able Integrated Graphics” sidebar Secure it with one or two screws if that happens), and you may need
on the previous page.) Typically, and connect any auxiliary power to restart your PC when the instal-
the graphics card will occupy the connectors as necessary. Replace lation has completed.
topmost area of the motherboard’s and secure the PC case panel, and
expansion slots. If your monitor connect the power cord to your All Systems Go
plugged directly into the moth- computer and to the main power. To make sure the new graphics
erboard, then chances are you Reconnect your peripherals, and card is pulling its weight, right-
were running integrated graphics ensure that your monitor cable click anywhere on the Desktop.
and have nothing to remove. If is connected to the appropriate You should see a menu that in-
the monitor cable was connected port on the back panel of the new cludes an item with the name of
to an expansion card, then this is graphics card. Next, turn the PC your new card. If so, then your
most likely your existing graphics back on. new graphics card and driver are
card; remove the screw(s) holding Install the new driver. While functioning properly. Select the
the bracket to the rear of the case, any graphics card you buy at re- appropriate option from that menu
disconnect the one or two auxil- tail is going to ship with a driver to tweak your graphics card, adjust
iary power connector(s) from the disc, we recommend downloading resolution, change multi-monitor
old graphics card, if there are any, the latest graphics drivers from the settings, and more. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 47

 Personal Technology

Password Managers
Put A Padlock On Your Online Identity

S
it up straight, wash behind What Password Managers nals. Password managers utilize a
your ears, eat your vegeta- Can Do For You master password, which you must
bles, look both ways before A password manager is typi- memorize and enter whenever
crossing the street, and always use cally a lightweight software ap- you want to access your secure
strong passwords. OK, so Mom plication that saves the logon de- sites. Almost all password manag-
probably didn’t mention that last tails of your various user accounts ers support multiple browsers, in-
one, but she should’ve. Passwords and automatically logs you in as cluding Internet Explorer, Firefox,
keep your identity and money safe you access those secure services. and Chrome; the ability to fill in
when you’re online, so it makes Many include browser plug-ins, shipping addresses, credit card
a lot of sense to make sure those let you create secure passwords, numbers, and other fields; and
strings of characters are built like automatically fill out forms, and category tags so that you can orga-
Fort Knox. Password managers are do even more to help you keep nize your secure sites and quickly
the key to making the most of your your virtual and real identities launch them from the password
online security. out of the hands of cyber crimi- manager interface. There are other

48 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

ways that cyber criminals can get

your online usernames and pass-
words, but password managers
can help thwart the vast majority
of them.

Beat The Breaches

It seems like every month an-
other high-profile security breach
results in hackers making off
Password managers
with the credit card details, pass-
can fill out forms to
words, and financial data of mil-
make online shop-
lions of unwitting users. Recently,
ping easier and safer.
the popular social networking
site LinkedIn announced the po-
tential exposure of 8 million ac-
count holder passwords that were
encoded but exposed. Hackers
quickly got to work decoding them
and managed to uncover many of
them, even those that contained
number/letter substitutions, a
combination of capital and lower-
case characters, punctuation, and
uncommon words. In fact, many
experts believe passwords that use
these tricks are relatively easy for
advanced password cracking soft-
ware and hardware to solve.
The best passwords are truly ran-
dom, and even those are better if
they’re longer, between 15 and 20
characters or more. Most password
managers include built-in pass-
word generators, and because the
password manager can remember Password managers step in to input the username and password whenever you are asked to
the password for you, you won’t verify your online identity.
need to.
Having created one strong pass-
word, now do it again for each
and every service you use. One a hacker with the right tools and even if your encrypted password
of the harsh realities we must face some time. It’s best to start by cre- gets exposed, the hackers will
is that there’s no such thing as a ating multiple strong passwords, only have access to one aspect of
perfect password. All it takes to a different one for every site or your online identity, limiting the
crack practically any password is service you use. This ensures that damage that can be done. Pass-

On-screen keyboards like this one can help

thwart keylogging malware.

Smart Computing / May 2013 49

 Personal Technology

word managers can help you keep

track of the dozen or more pass-
words you’ll need to maintain.
Again, with a password manager,
the only password you’ll actually
need to remember is the master Password generators can help you
password. create strong passwords for every
site or service you use.
Bonus Security
Features
All password managers worth
using automate the logon pro-
cess for your online services and
websites. Some offer a selection
of security features that are not di-
rectly related to this core function,
but are nice to have. One that we
like is a virtual keyboard, which is
a way to thwart keylogging mal-
ware. If you’re the forgetful type,
then look for a password manager
that automatically reminds you to
change your passwords. The forget-
ful among us should also look for
a password manager that provides
master password hints. (Some man-
agers exclude this feature in an at-
tempt to make the software more
secure.) Most password managers Password managers that sync online let you quickly access your secure
support 256-bit AES encryption, logons no matter where you are.
so use this as a minimum require-
ment, especially if your passwords
protect particularly sensitive data,

such as business, medical, or fi- the software supports both plat-

nancial records. forms. Many will also run from
If you want to use a password a flash drive, so you can simply
manager on a computer or device plug the drive into a USB port on
to which multiple people have ac- a public computer to access your
cess, then make sure you get one sites without leaving a trace on the
that automatically logs you out of computer. If you use a biometric
the password manager after a pe- device on your desktop or note-
riod of inactivity or once a set in- book, look for password managers
terval has passed. If your password that support biometric input.
manager lacks this feature, then
get into the habit of logging out of Choosing The Right
it when you’re stepping away from Password Manager
the computer or device. To find the password manager
Because you don’t just use that best suits your needs, compare
desktops and notebooks to access features across multiple titles and
the Web, look for robust mobile develop your own list of the must-
device support, including support haves. Given the variety of pass-
for smartphones and tablets. If word managers available, we think
Many password managers also you have an Android phone and you’ll have no trouble finding the
work on your mobile devices. an iPad, for instance, make sure right one. ●

50 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

CPU Caches
L1, L2, and L3 Cache Explained

Inside a CPU, such as this Core i7 from Intel, are This diagram of an Intel Core i7-3970X shows its level 3
two or three fast memory caches for data. cache. Each core has its own L1 and L2 caches, too.

Y
ou may be familiar with the A typical CPU has two or three single, common memory space that
role of RAM (random access caches. These include the tiny, fast all the cores can share. L3 cache
memory) in your computer. L1 (level 1) cache for data and in- is sometimes called LLC (last level
RAM gives the PC a fast place to structions being used immediately, cache) or Intel Smart Cache in re-
store data it’s currently using, such and the larger and slightly slower cent processors from that company.
as the applications you’re currently L2. In some cases, a chip will have a
running and the documents you much bigger L3 cache that is slower A Tool In The Hand
have open. If your PC’s processor than L2, but still much faster than Let’s illustrate caches with a
had to constantly read that informa- the PC’s RAM. real-world example. Say you’re
tion from your hard drive or SSD, If the processor (or one of its out building a birdhouse in your
your computer would be too slow to cores) doesn’t find the data it needs backyard. There’s a hammer in
get anything done. in its L1 cache, it checks the L2, the your hand, a few other tools in
What you may not know is that L3 (if present), the computer’s RAM, your toolbox, and more tools in
inside the processor itself, there are and finally the hard drive or other your garage. You realize that one
tinier, even faster stages of RAM storage devices. of the boards you’re using is a lit-
called memory caches. The caches Every processor core has its own tle too long, so you head to the
temporarily store data that’s ready L1 and L2 cache, so a quad-core garage to fetch a saw. After you
to be processed, along with any re- chip would have four sets of L1/L2 trim the board, however, you lay
cently used data the CPU thinks that cache memory, for example. Level the saw near your toolbox—just
it might need again and new data it’s 3 cache, on the other hand, is pri- in case you’ll need it again before
likely to require soon. marily used in multi-core CPUs as a your project is finished.

Smart Computing / May 2013 51

 Personal Technology

small business computing tasks. A

mainstream or performance-orient-
ed chip will probably have an L3
cache (of whatever catchy market-
ing name), as well. With the ability
to cache a greater amount of data
in speedy, temporary memory, the
CPU with L3 cache will spend less
time waiting for data from the RAM
or storage drives.
The next thing to keep in mind is that
a bigger cache is better than a smaller
one. All else being equal, an 8MB L3
cache will give you more of a speed
benefit than 3MB, for instance. (Not
that all things are in fact often equal, so
be sure to take into account other vari-
ables: memory, graphics processors,
hard drive configuration, etc.)
Finally, the caches in newer gen-
erations of processors are probably
superior to those in older CPUs, as
newer lines of chips often have bet-
ter cache performance. This may be
due to higher frequencies, better
data-sharing among the cores and
other caches, speedier transistors,
and other design changes.
Intel® Xeon® processors are heavy-duty workhorses aimed at the server market. The E7
family of CPUs, for instance, feature up to 10 multithreaded cores, caches of up to Recommendations
30MB, and run at speeds of up to 2.40GHz. In the end, you should buy a
CPU that has the right power/price
balance for your needs and your
budget. Don’t buy more than you
In this analogy, the tool in your hand ing data waiting to be written to the need—or at least, try not to pay too
at a given moment, such as a hammer, hard disk or optical disc.) much for the extra, (supposedly)
is like the data stored in a CPU’s L1 unneeded power. Why the hedge?
cache. The toolbox is the level 2 cache, Cash For Cache Well, the future has a way of arriv-
and your garage is the L3. So what should you look for ing unannounced—and much soon-
Carrying the analogy a bit fur- when it comes to the cache mem- er than expected. The CPU that was
ther, you can think of the RAM as ory in your next processor? Well, plenty powerful enough for what
a friendly neighbor who loans you we wouldn’t exactly call level you were doing in your office-cum-
tools you don’t have, whereas the 1/2/3 cache a primary concern den a while back might turn out to
hard drive is the hardware store in when you’re shopping for a new be woefully underpowered when
town that sells you items your neigh- CPU: Processors generally come your business takes off and you find
bor doesn’t possess. If your CPU with caches commensurate with yourself in a real office environment,
needs to read data from a CD, DVD, their intended levels of perfor- creating documents and media of a
or the Internet, that’s like having to mance—but here’s some back- size and complexity you hadn’t an-
order a new tool online and then ground on the ways that some ticipated six months earlier.
wait for it to arrive, relatively speak- caches are better than others. Of course, cache memory is just one
ing. (As it happens, to help speed First of all, the more levels of factor among many when it comes to
things along, hard drives and opti- cache, the better. An inexpensive, a chip’s performance. But, if you have
cal drives have caches of their own, value CPU may have only L1 and L2 the option to buy an otherwise similar
called buffers. Cache buffers hold caches; that’s perfectly acceptable processor with more cache, we rec-
recently read data as well as incom- and more than enough for typical ommend that you do so. ●

52 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

b t find it online t
w ide we wor Instructables
tw
orld
.comt www.dr ld w
ide www.instructables.com
ne
gle iv

we
nli

If you’re looking for a way to

it o

bt
e.g
find

find
o

share an interesting project you’ve

w.drive.go
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it onl
completed, or to get some ideas

oogle.comtww onli
nstructables.
www.i co m

ine t world wide web t

t for creative things you can do

om
at home, Instructables is a great

tw
nstructables.c

ww.i
place to start, as there are cur-

nstructables.
rently over 100,000 projects
w

available. Instructables started in

t onli

2005 as an in-house documen-

ww.i
t
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find
m
t fin

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co m
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it

rive.google.co ide
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orld rld w o t r people who share their creations.
.co
wide
web t find it online t w
dmatter.com

m t Popular channels at press time

included Woodworking, Toys,
Soups & Stews, Photography, and
www.re

(our favorite) Pies. There’s also a

ea
w.r

ad

ww tter.c
ma section called The Family Handy-
om t man and TechShop, where you’ll

Find It Online
find detailed how to’s with pho-
tos and step-by-step guidelines for
projects. You can communicate
with the active community via a
Forums area, where you can post
questions and solicit advice.

MATTER
www.readmatter.com
Those interested in the fields of
technology, medicine, the environ-
ment, and science—and who seek
in-depth coverage—will want to
visit MATTER. It’s a digital source
for long-form news and analy-
sis that’s sometimes tough to find
on modern digital media. And the
website can be read as easily on
a PC as on a tablet, eReader, or
smartphone. MATTER costs just 99
cents a month, and includes ev-
ery article they publish during the
month. Members will also receive
Google Drive eBook downloads (in the .MOBI
www.drive.google.com and ePub formats), as well as au-
This popular mobile app also has an associated Web service with diobook versions, so you can lis-
which you can connect via your PC. Google Drive combines the fea- ten to the story in your car or on a
tures of Google Docs with 5GB of free cloud storage, which you can use portable audio device. Even better,
to back up key files, images, and videos. Google recently announced a members can take part in an online
Preview feature that will provide a visual display for up to 30 file types; question-and-answer session with
flip though the files to quickly scan documents, watch videos, or flip the authors and editors, so you can
through images. Supported file types include .JPEG, .MPEG4, .DOCX, find out more about a given story or
.XLSX, .PPTX, .TIFF, and .PDF. get answers to important questions.

Smart Computing / May 2013 53

 Personal Technology

The Picture Show

www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/
Fans of NPR should visit The Pic-
ture Show to discover more about
the stories and see images go along
with the daily NPR news. The photo
stories are typically filled with im-
ages, so you’ll be able to see a va-
riety of photos that enhance each
story. NPR also links you to other
sources and images, so you can do
more research.

www.npr.org
TED
www.ted.com
Short for Technology, Entertain-
ment, and Design, TED is a non-
profit website that has devoted
itself to what it calls “Ideas Worth
Spreading.” You may already be
familiar with TED Talks, a series
of live-streaming lectures and per-
formances where known thinkers
and doers are challenged to give
the talk of their lives for 18 minutes
or less, and TED.com provides ac-
cess to more than 1,400 archived
TED Talks. You’ll easily be able to
sort through the various TED Talks,
as there are filters for the T.E.D cat-
egories, as well as Business, Space,

www.ted.com
Science, and Global Issues. There’s
also a search field at the top of the
website, in which you can enter
specific queries.

Paperless2013
www.paperless2013.org
This website is part of a cam-
paign to “take the paper out of
paper work.” On the main page,
you’ll be able to sign up for a
monthly newsletter that will pro-
vide you with tips and tools from
the Paperless Coalition. You could
www.paperless2013.org

print out the newsletter, but . . .

well, just don’t. You’ll also find a
variety of Web utilities that you
can use to reduce the number of
receipts, paper records, signatures,
event documentation, and bill pay-
ment records that you’ll need. ●

54 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

What You Need To Know

Headphones
1❱ On-ear head-
phones look similar
to over-the-ear mod-
els, but they feature
smaller ear cups.

2❱ Over-the-ear
models are ideal
as studio monitor
headphones for
professional audio
environments.

H
eadphones are a useful ac- by sitting against your head, which manufacturers to incorporate larger,
cessory for many of today’s can help to reduce external noise high-end speakers into the ear pads
devices, including laptops, that can be intrusive when you need for a superior sound, compared to
smartphones, tablets, and portable to focus on the task at hand. Over- other types of over-ear headphones.
media players. In some cases, head- the-ear models are the largest style On the flip side, the large size makes
phones are the only way that you’ll of headphones. The large size allows over-the-ear headphones less desir-
be able to hear audio from a porta-
ble device. Here, we’ll examine the
different types of headphones and
what you need to consider when
purchasing them. OVER-THE-EAR MODELS
Over-The-Ear
As the name suggests, over-the-
are the largest style of headphones. The
ear models are designed with com- large size allows manufacturers to incorporate
fortable ear pads that surround your
outer ears, so the headphones don’t larger, high-end speakers into the ear pads for a
sit on your ear lobes. Also known as
full-sized or circumaural, over-the-
superior sound, compared to other types of
ear headphones create a natural seal over-ear headphones.

Smart Computing / May 2013 55

 Personal Technology

able for a traveler who has limited

space for headphones in his travel
bag.

On-Ear
This style of headphone is similar
to over-the-ear, except that the ear
pads sit directly on your ear lobes.
You’ll still enjoy the comfort of cush- 3❱ Clip-on style head-
ioned or foam ear pads, and the flat phones are great for
cups are typically smaller and light- anyone with an active
er than over-the-ear models. The on- lifestyle.
ear design still allows for some am-
bient noise, which is perfect if you 4❱ Earbuds feature a
plan on wearing the headphones compact design that lets
while walking (allowing you to hear you take them wherever
traffic and others around you) or if you go.
you want to keep an ear out for a
phone call.

Behind-The-Neck
A band running behind the ear
pads or earbuds rests against your
neck, which is perfect for people
who wish to listen to music while
exercising. Thus, behind-the-neck
headphones are ideal for runners,
bikers, hikers, and other outdoor en-
thusiasts.

Clip-On
These headphones feature an at-
tachment that slides over your ear,
so it’s easy to take on and off. The
lightweight, easy-to-put-on design
makes them appealing for people
who are on the go and want a porta-
ble set of headphones they can eas-
ily slip on and still be able to hear
ambient noise around them.

Earbuds
These are one of the most popu- Buying Advice
lar headphone options because the
ultra-portable design allows them to t
$POTJEFS
UIF
UZQFT
PG
BDUJWJUJFT
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QFSGPSN
XIJMF
XFBSJOH
IFBE-
be taken anywhere. You wear ear- phones and invest in a style that best matches those activities.
buds by resting them inside your
t
*G
JUT
JNQPSUBOU
UIBU
ZPV
POMZ
IFBS
BVEJP
GSPN
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DPNQVUFS
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PUIFS

ear, which naturally helps to block
mobile device, look for headphones that feature sound-isolating or noise-
out background noise that may be
cancelling technology, which are two ways that head-
distracting when you need to con-
phones reduce ambient noise.
centrate or just want some time
alone with your thoughts. Earbuds t
8JSFMFTT
NPEFMT
UIBU
DPNNVOJDBUF
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#MVFUPPUI
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are handy for commuters, travelers, convenient for people who use headsets with laptops,
and anyone who wants small, pock- TNBSUQIPOFT
BOE
PUIFS
#MVFUPPUIFOBCMFE
EFWJDFT
etable headphones. ●

56 May 2013 / www.smartcomputing.com

 Personal Technology

Five Things You Didn’t Know About . . .

Smartphones
what you may not know is that even
with GPS turned off, your phone
can still determine your location. It
does this by various means, depend-
ing on how advanced your phone is
and where you are. For instance, if
you’re on the road and a cloudy sky
is keeping GPS satellites from lock-
ing in on you, your phone is capable
of using nearby cellular towers to tri-
angulate your position.
Assisted GPS is a term used to refer
to the technology capable of using a
combination of cell towers, GPS satel-
lites, and even nearby Wi-Fi networks,
to find your position. Even phones
that don’t come with GPS integrated
circuits can still be found.
In order to keep your location a
secret, you may need to manually
disable location services from the
phone’s Settings menu and make
sure that apps employing geoloca-
tion, including many social net-
working apps, are not reporting your
whereabouts against your wishes.
Even without access to a GPS
signal, your smartphone can Killing Processes May Do
still tell others where you are. More Harm Than Good
If you’ve gotten into the habit of
manually killing the apps that contin-
uously run in the background on your

S
martphones are undoubtedly your smartphone and a multitude smartphone, you may be punishing
on the fast track to ubiquity. But of location-aware apps (not all of your device’s battery life more than
even though you probably have which are related to mapping) to you think. Modern smartphone OSes,
one on your desk, or in your pocket, pinpoint your location. including Apple’s iOS, Google’s An-
purse, or backpack right now, there While this technology is an im- droid, Microsoft’s Windows Phone,
may be a few things about these pow- portant part of what makes your and others, are all optimized to keep
erful devices that you didn’t know. In smartphone so useful—helping you your battery running as long as possi-
this article we’ll highlight a handful of get directions, finding nearby busi- ble. Apps that run in the background
the most useful smartphone secrets. nesses, and letting friends and fam- on the latest versions of smartphone
ily know where you are—it also has OSes are in a suspended state, and
Big Brother Is (Still) Watching the potential to expose your where- they consume very little power while
Most smartphones for sale today abouts to people you don’t intend. maintaining this state. By killing the
include GPS (global positioning sys- Your smartphone’s privacy pec- app, you aren’t saving much power
tem) integrated circuits, enabling cadilloes aren’t anything new, but to begin with. Even worse, if the app

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Performing a factory reset on your smartphone may not ensure Cloud-based storage apps, like SkyDrive, can supplement your
that your device is scrubbed clean of personal data. smartphone’s internal storage capacity.

needs to sync settings with the Inter- amount of data you have at your fin- reset phones, and we’d bet good
net, determine your location, the cur- gertips. In this way, you can regularly money that cybercriminals aren’t
rent date and time, then it’ll spin up swap files in and out of your cloud far behind. On your PC, you can
one or more of the cellular, GPS, or storage app’s folders. As long as you use a secure erase program to es-
Wi-Fi radios, stress the processor to have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, sentially overwrite the entire mem-
determine your phone state, and dive these apps will let you open, view, ory space with junk. Until we get
into memory to gather all the data it edit, listen to, and watch just about smartphones that support similar
needs. Multiply this by a few apps any sort of file you use. secure-erase capabilities, your best
and you can see how forcing them bet is to donate your phone to a
to shut down when you’re not using A Factory Reset Can’t certified recycler that is audited
them can do more to drain your bat- Prevent Data Theft to prove that it renders your data
tery than just allowing the phone’s When it’s time to upgrade to a unrecoverable. Your only other al-
OS to tuck them into the background new phone, you might think that ternative is to smash it, particularly
when you’re not actively using them. performing a factory reset on the the memory chips, to bits.
old unit is sufficient to keep cyber
Store More In The Cloud thieves and others with less-than- Overseas Calling
When you bought your phone, innocent motives from finding out This one is important: Failing to
chances are its internal storage was where you live, uncovering online heed this warning has cost people
one of the factors that contributed to account passwords, and wreaking big bucks. Before you travel over-
the price you paid. Consumer-based havoc on your social networks. seas, call your mobile carrier and in-
cloud storage services have exploded Not true. Just as when you de- quire about signing up for a tempo-
over the past few years, and there are lete a file on your computer, the rary international calling plan. This
several you can choose from to sync data on your smartphone after will cost you much less than using
files between multiple smartphones, a factory reset isn’t gone, it has your normal plan. An even more af-
tablets, and PCs. With a cloud-based just had its placeholder (called fordable route might be to just pur-
storage app on your smartphone, a pointer) removed. Forensic ex- chase an inexpensive pay-as-you go
you can dramatically increase the perts can recover data on factory phone when travelling abroad. ●

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Troubleshooting
Reference:
MEMORY
PROBLEMS WITH YOUR PC’S MEMORY, or virus scan with your security software If the Windows Memory Diagnos-
RAM (Random Access Memory), can just to be safe, because a virus can tic finds errors, you’ll see a pop-up
result in a variety of issues, including cause similar symptoms. that tells you where the memory
seemingly random freezes, crashes, failed. In this case, you’ll likely need
and system errors. When you’re see- Memory Analysis to replace the memory to fix the
ing these types of issues, there are no Windows 7 includes the Windows problem. If the utility detects no er-
obvious error messages that indicate Memory Diagnostics Tool, which rors, no message will be displayed
something is wrong with the memory will help you detect problems with and Windows will go ahead and
in your computer. Here, we’ll show your computer’s RAM;. To manu- load your Desktop.
you how to discover if your RAM is ally run the utility, click the Start but-
the problem and give you some ways ton, select Control Panel, and type Quick Fix
to fix it. memory into the search box. Select Nearly all PCs contain more than
Diagnose Your Computer’s Memory one memory module. It’s possible
Is It A Memory Issue? Problems under Administrative Tools, that only one of the sticks of RAM
The most common manifestations and you’ll see two options. You can is causing the problem, so try re-
of RAM problems are operating sys- choose to have Windows restart right moving one and see if that fixes the
tem crashes or applications that hang now and check the memory, or you issue. Continue switching out the
or won’t respond. If you’re experienc- can tell it to wait until the next time memory until you find the memory
ing these issues, try running an anti- you reboot your PC. stick that’s causing the problem. ●

Prevention Fix-It Checklist

Some memory errors can occur when the When your PC’s memory is causing problems, you’ll need
modules are not securely placed in the the following things to get it fixed up.
socket. Therefore it’s a good idea to occa-
sionally open up your case and ensure that ✓ Phillips-head screw driver to remove side panel or laptop panel
each stick is securely seated in its slot.
✓ A functional, up-to-date copy of Windows

✓ Users manual for your computer

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Troubleshooting
Reference:
DIGITAL
CAMERAS
WE’VE COME TO RELY ON DIGITAL CAMERAS fiber cloth will remove most marks. tacts. You’ll need to clean the contact
to capture the special moments in our For stubborn fingerprint oils, you may pads with a brush and fine sandpaper
lives. And if you miss a moment be- need to use a lens cleaner. Lenses typ- before you install a new battery.
cause your camera isn’t working or ically have special coatings, so you’ll
produces poor-quality images, it can want to avoid any household cleaning Shots Are Dark Or Off-Color
be frustrating. Here, we’ll provide products that could mar the coating. Many point-and-shoot cameras
some quick tips for resolving a few of use small image sensors that have
the most common issues. Battery Life trouble gathering enough light in
When you first got your digital cam- low-light environments. You may be
Clean Off The Lens era, the battery lasted for several hours able to compensate by switching to
So you’ve just snapped a few pho- before it needed to be recharged. But a shooting mode in which the cam-
tos of the family dog, only to find over time, a battery wears out; eventu- era opens the shutter for a longer
that most of them have been ruined ally, it may only give you enough juice period of time, but then the camera
because a certain pooch left his nose- for a few shots. If you’re experiencing must be held steady to avoid blur. It
prints on the lens. The same problem this problem, you’ll likely need to may be easier to move the subject to
can occur if dust builds up or when invest in a new battery. If you see a a location where there is more light,
you accidentally touch the lens with white flaky material on the old battery, or to better illuminate the scene by
your finger. Breathing across the lens it’s likely that it was leaking and that adding more light with a flash or by
and wiping it off with a soft, micro- residual acid has corroded the con- opening a curtain. ●

Prevention Fix-It Checklist

Digital cameras are fairly durable devices, Here are the tools you’ll need when troubleshooting
but you’ll want to keep them away from a digital camera.
liquid, sand, and dirt. Liquid can short out
the internal circuitry, while sand and dirt ✓ Microfiber cloth ✓ Fine sandpaper
can scratch the lens and other parts inside
the camera. The internal circuitry and glass ✓ Lens-cleaning solution ✓ Backup batteries
lens (and internal mirror, if your camera has
one) can also be damaged if you drop the ✓ Soft brush
camera, so remember to keep the neck strap
on while using it.

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Troubleshooting
Reference:
NETWORKING
A down, slow, or unreliable network the device’s software, often solving Weak Wireless Signal
can lead to significant downtime and these sorts of problems. Watch out for nearby devices such
frustration. Here, we’ll help you trou- as microwaves, Bluetooth devices,
bleshoot a few of the most common Examine Your baby monitors, and phones, all of
network problems. Network Adapter which can cause interference in the
If that didn’t solve the issue, check signal. Move your router someplace
Try The Power Cycle the PC’s network adapter. The Network where it’s less likely to experience
When it comes to the physical Diagnostic utility built into Windows 7 interference.
network, there are two devices that can renew your computer’s IP address
can possibly fail: the router and the and ensure that the network adapter Intermittent Connection
modem. Both have simple fixes. Turn is enabled. To run Network Diagnos- You’ll want to check the physical
them off, wait ten seconds or so, and tic in Windows 7, click the Start orb, connections to your router to see if
turn them back on again. This “power select Control Panel, choose Network all the cords are securely connect-
cycling” will resolve many network And Internet, and select Network And ed. A loose connection may explain
issues. For example, the router may Sharing Center. Under View Your Ac- why the Web drops intermittently.
have had a problem renewing its IP tive Networks, select the link next to It’s possible that the cable may have
address or releasing new IP addresses Connections and click the Diagnose a cut or kink that causes a fault in
for the computers on your network. button. Windows will run a few tests to the connection. Try replacing the
Restarting the router or modem resets try and fix the problem. Ethernet cable. ●

Prevention Fix-It Checklist

Wireless signal interference will typically be Here are the tools you’ll need when troubleshooting
worse if the device causing the problem is your network.
close to the router. Try moving your router
or PC to a different location, where the ✓ Extra Ethernet cable to replace bad or kinked cable
interference will have less of an effect. (And
see “Troubleshooting Reference: Wi-Fi Con- ✓ Unused outlets for alternative locations to place wireless router
nection” in this section for more informa-
tion.) ✓ Users manuals for routers and other networking equipment

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Troubleshooting
Reference:
WI-FI
CONNECTION
INTERNET CONNECTIVITY HAS BECOME fier), or Wi-Fi network name, then turn your PC and any device that has failed
synonymous with “smart” when it your attention to the wireless router. to connect to the wireless network. If
comes to consumer electronics and Most routers have LEDs that indicate the connectivity issue is isolated to
appliances. But if your Wi-Fi connec- connection status, so consult your a single device, disabling and re-en-
tion goes down, you might have a hard manual and determine if the router abling Wi-Fi may solve the problem.
time adjusting to a Blu-ray player that appears to be operating normally. The
just plays Blu-ray Discs, a phone that manual also provides instructions for The Wi-Fi Network Is Work-
only makes phone calls, and a tablet accessing the configuration menu, so ing, But There’s No Internet
that just plays games. Follow these Wi- check this to make sure you actually You may need to reset your Internet
Fi connection troubleshooting tips to have a wireless network up and run- connection. Unplug the wireless router
“smarten up” your favorite gadgets. ning. Reset your security password if and modem. Next, plug in the modem
necessary. Make sure that your router and wait ten to twenty seconds for the
Device Fails To Detect A is configured to broadcast the SSID, lights to come on and then plug in the
Wi-Fi Network at least while you’re troubleshooting. router. If your modem has a battery
The first thing you should do is find (You may wish to stop broadcasting backup, you may need to press a re-
another Wi-Fi-capable device and once the problem is resolved.) Also, cessed button to reset it. Check all Eth-
attempt to connect to the Wi-Fi net- check the wired devices plugged into ernet cables for loose connections and
work. If the second device also can- your router to determine if the router then try to find your Wireless network
not locate the SSID (Service Set Identi- itself is malfunctioning. Finally, restart with your Wi-Fi-based devices. ●

Prevention Fix-It Checklist

A Wi-Fi network requires little maintenance. If It’s helpful to have a few things on hand when your Wi-Fi network
you regularly maintain your PC, modem, rout- fails. Here’s a short checklist that’ll help you solve the problem.
er, and wireless devices, the network should
continue to operate flawlessly. You may experi- ✓ A spare device that ✓ Wireless router or adapter
ence speed fluctuations if there are too many supports Wi-Fi driver discs
devices or appliances nearby that operate on
the same frequency; minimize this problem by ✓ Manuals for your router ✓ Alternate Wi-Fi
keeping your wireless router and Wi-Fi devices and modem router
away from cordless phones, microwaves, wire-
less game controllers, Bluetooth devices, and ✓ Spare Ethernet cables ✓ USB Wi-Fi adapter
even fluorescent lights.

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What To Do When

Your System Freezes

A
ny time your system resource-intensive activities, such saving early and often. Schedule and
locks up, your work is as editing video, burning a DVD, confirm regular backups of important
at risk, but freezing doesn’t al- or copying large files, many ap- data. Don’t let hardware or software
ways have to end in catastrophe. We’ll plications and machines may ap- problems linger—troubleshoot and
help you understand how to work pear to hang. Don’t start forcing repair/replace as soon as feasible.
through and recover from these issues. anything to close or shut anything Use antivirus and anti-spyware tools
down until you’re certain it’s not to protect your system from malware.
General Tips just taking a long time to complete
What at first looks like a the task. Program Freezes
freeze may just be slow pro- As always, protect yourself against Many applications feature some
cessing. When in the middle of inevitable freezes and crashes by sort of moving progress indicators to

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let you know they’re still working,

but not all applications have these,
and they don’t always work correctly.
When you think your program is fro- Pressing ALT-TAB
zen, use your mouse to try switching may let you switch
applications. Sometimes working on among open
something else gives the bogged- applications in an
down application time to recover. attempt to avoid
If switching to other applications the one that’s not
doesn’t work, or if the mouse isn’t responding.
responding, press ALT-TAB to display
all of the currently open windows.
Press TAB repeatedly while holding
ALT to rotate through them. Simply
release both keys when you reach the
application you want. Switching out
to another open program, either for
just a moment or for a longer period, the first open window in that pro- the Taskbar and selecting Start Task
can help determine whether the ap- gram or, at the very least, lets you Manager from the context menu or
plication in question is responding. complete your activity within a dif- by pressing CTRL-ALT-DELETE and
If nothing else is open or if your ferent session. clicking Start Task Manager from the
system isn’t responding to ALT-TAB, If nothing you do induces the ap- on-screen menu. Start with the Ap-
press WINDOWS-M to minimize all plication to respond, click the “X” plications tab. Locate the program in
open applications, returning your button at the top right corner. The question and click End Task. If that
screen to the Windows Desktop. program may take a minute or two doesn’t do anything after a few min-
Sometimes, this reveals a dialog box to close, or generate a “Not Re- utes, navigate to the Processes tab.
or warning message hidden beneath sponding” message. If you’ve ex- When you find the culprit, select it
other open windows. hausted all other options, force the and click End Process at the bottom
The next step is to try relaunching application to close by clicking End right. Confirm any warning messages
the offending application or open- Task (or similar). with another End Process selection.
ing another instance of it. It won’t If ending a program this way This should bring a quick end to any
always work, but sometimes this doesn’t work, you’ll have to go to application that’s stopped respond-
nudges the system into reactivating the Task Manager by right-clicking ing, but it doesn’t mean your system
is back to normal. At this point, it’s a
good idea to reboot before trying to
run the application again.

System Freezes
Full system-wide freezes can be a
little more difficult to figure out. For
one thing, it’s hard to identify a sin-
gle application or process at fault if
you’re multitasking when things go
awry. It’s also harder (by definition)
to navigate and investigate when
The End Task dialog box, either gener- nothing is responding, including
ated from an application’s Close (“X”) Windows itself. Start by looking for
button or from the Task Manager, may signs of life that might indicate the
force a frozen program to close. system is processing and not frozen.
Good indicators include flashing ac-
tivity lights, the whir of a churning
The Windows Task Manager provides de- hard drive, or indicator icons and
tailed access to all open applications and bars that move only infrequently. If
processes, providing access to a forced it looks like things might actually be
End Process or Log Off option. moving, wait a little longer.

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After The Thaw: Recover From A Freeze

S YSTEM FROZEN? TRY THESE STEPS TO QUICKLY GET YOUR SYSTEM BACK UP AND RUNNING AGAIN.
Reboot. Even after closing an application, your memory or other processes may have become corrupted. Be safe
and restart the system.
Safe Mode. If you shut down the system without using the Windows Shutdown option, boot up in Safe Mode.
Windows will often prompt you after a system crash, or you can press F8 during the boot process for a menu
with the option to boot into Safe Mode. Then just restart the system before proceeding.
Recover data. If you had to close out in the midst of working on something, your in-progress data may be lost.
But you may be able to recover at
least part of your files. Microsoft
Office will often AutoRecover docu-
ments after a crash, and temporary
or archived files may provide some After a freeze,
assistance. boot back up
Watch out. Keep a close eye on into Safe Mode
the system’s performance and your before restarting
usage for a while, so that if a freeze normally.
recurs, you can detect a pattern and,
hopefully, identify the cause.
Save early, save often. Freezes can
happen at any time, without warn-
ing. Make a habit of saving your work
regularly. Don’t forget to schedule and
verify regular system backups, as well.

When signs of life cease, or when WINDOWS-D (show the Desktop). especially older ones, are notorious
you run out of patience, try a few Disconnect and reconnect your for creating resource conflicts that
simple navigational tricks. Use the mouse and keyboard. You can also can bring a system to its knees.
ALT-TAB shortcut as previously de- try removing peripherals not in use, If the system is still not respond-
scribed to see if anything happens. such as portable drives, printers, or ing, you’re left with little choice but
Try other keyboard shortcuts such other devices. Try removing any re- to shut it down. Take the gentle route
as WINDOWS-M (minimize all) or cently added hardware. USB drives, first. Press CTRL-ALT-DELETE and see
if you can get to a Log Off or Task Man-
ager window. Or try to get to the Start
menu with its shutdown options, either
via the mouse or by pressing the WIN-
DOWS key. Next, press ALT-F4 to close
the currently active application or shut
The CTRL-ALT-DELETE down the system. If your machine has
keyboard shortcut may Shutdown, Standby, or Restart key-
not work when the sys- board buttons (as many notebooks
tem freezes, but it’s worth do), try using them. Additionally, many
a try before shutting desktop cases have a Restart button
everything down. built into the front. Finally, if nothing
else works, press and hold the Power
button to shut the machine down.
Avoid pulling the plug or removing the
battery if at all possible. ●

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Tips From The Help Desk

Common Tech Questions

USB memory card readers are an easy way to add memory SD cards are the most popular storage format found
card connectivity to your computers. on today’s mobile devices.

Q: What’s the easiest way to

add memory card reader
capabilities to my desktop PC?
ers feature an integrated USB plug,
so you don’t need to use a cable to
connect the reader to your PC.
ports the type of memory cards
found in your portable devices.
Most modern portable devices use
If you’re in the market for a some type of SD slot. SD cards are

A: Memory card readers cer-

tainly simplify the image or
document transfer process. Just
printer, consider a model that in-
cludes an integrated card reader.
Photo printers commonly offer
available in SDSC (up to 4GB),
SDHC (between 4GB and 32GB),
and SDXC (32GB and above) op-
insert your memory card into the memory card slots to let you print tions. MicroSD cards can be found
reader, open Windows Explorer, photos without the need for a PC, in capacities up to 64GB.
select the drive for memory card and you can also use the printer’s
reader (typically titled Removable
Disk), and copy the files to the de-
sired folder on your PC.
memory card slots to transfer files
to or from your memory cards.
You might also consider an inter-
Q: What are the differences
between the types of D-SLR
lenses, such as telephoto, wide-
External memory card readers nal memory card reader, which angle, and macro?
are available in a wide variety of provides a clean look by installing
shapes and sizes. Some models
will accept nearly every type of
memory card. Other external card
into a free drive bay at the front
of your desktop PC. Typically, in-
ternal card readers are designed to
A: Telephoto lenses provide the
long-range zoom capability
you need to shoot faraway subjects.
readers are designed with porta- fit into 3.5-inch bay openings (the A telephoto lens also creates a shal-
bility in mind and only read one or same size as a 3.5-inch diskette low depth of field that blurs objects
a few types of memory cards. For drive), rather than the full-size in the background and foreground,
instance, you may find some flash 5.25-inch bays. If your PC only of- which helps highlight the in-focus
drive-sized external card readers fers 5.25-inch bays, you can pur- area of the photo. It’s ideal for captur-
that only accept SD (Secure Digi- chase an adapter and cover for a ing portraits and other images where
tal) or SDHC (Secure Digital High 3.5-inch card reader. you need to separate objects from
Capacity) formats. For conve- Whatever you choose, ensure the background. A wide-angle lens
nience, many portable card read- that the memory card reader sup- delivers a more panoramic view than

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 Tech Support

SDHC memory cards will store A telephoto lens allows people to get
more than 4GB of content. crisp close-ups from a distance.

other lenses. Because you can frame size, to provide a perspective that and camera) as the lens. If so, you
a larger portion of a scene, the wide- you wouldn’t otherwise see. Those may be able to use the film camera’s
angle lens is perfect for shooting who want to mimic the perspec- SLR lens on your D-SLR, but it may
scenic landscapes, as well as tight tive of human vision—popular for not take complete advantage of the
indoor spaces where a normal lens candid and nature photography— features on your D-SLR, such as the
can’t capture the entire room. Wide- should consider a “standard” lens camera’s autofocus, light-metering,
angle lenses also provide a large that provides a fixed focal length flash synchronization, and image
depth of field, so it’s easy to keep the of around 50mm. The key concern stabilization capabilities. Addition-
entire image in-focus. with a standard lens is that you can’t ally, most D-SLRs have smaller im-
If you enjoy photographing the zoom in or out, so you’ll need to age sensors than their film compan-
small things in life, such as flowers move to frame the shot. ions, which causes the SLRs lens to
and butterflies, you should consider deliver greater telephoto range and
a macro lens. This type of lens is
designed to let you sharply focus
on tiny objects, including subjects
Q: Can I use my film-camera
SLR lenses on my digital SLR?
less of a wide-angle view than the
lens would have delivered on your
film camera.
within inches of the camera lens.
Macro lenses magnify a subject,
sometimes two to four times life-
A: You’ll need to see if your D-SLR
offers the same type of mount
(the connector between the lens Q: Can I ditch my laptop and
work exclusively on a

Because you can frame a larger portion of a scene, the wide-angle

lens is perfect for shooting scenic landscapes, as well as tight indoor
spaces where a normal lens couldn’t capture the entire room.

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A wide-angle lens lets you Depending on your needs, you may be able to use only
capture more of a scene. your smartphone while traveling for business.

smartphone or tablet when travel- find an application that will do what the need to bring a portable media
ing for business? you need. But will it allow you to player or headphones.
work efficiently enough to get the Even though smartphones and tab-

A: Many business travelers now

rely on a smartphone the way
they once relied on a laptop to get
job done in a timely manner?
If precise data entry is important
and must be done on the road,
lets have become much faster in the
last few years, it’s unlikely the mobile
application will respond as quickly as
work done outside the office. And business travelers could invest in a a comparable program would on your
with recent advancements in screen portable keyboard. A wide variety laptop. People whose jobs require
size, mobile broadband, and pro- of Bluetooth keyboards are avail- the use of complex software, such as
cessing power, today’s smartphones able, and some include extra fea- that used by managers, graphic de-
and tablets allow travelers to get tures, such as full-size USB ports signers, or videographers, may find
work done nearly as efficiently as and enhanced battery life. Music themselves losing time waiting for a
they can in the office. The key con- fans will note that most current mobile device to process data if they
sideration for most people is wheth- phones support Bluetooth’s A2DP ditch the laptop. But if all you need to
er there are mobile applications (Advanced Audio Distribution work on the road is Web and email
available for everything you’ll need Profile), which allows your smart- access, a smartphone or tablet will
to do when you travel. With a little phone to send stereo music over a likely be enough. In most cases, it’ll
searching, it’s likely you’ll be able to Bluetooth headset and eliminates come down the nature of your job. ●

With recent advancements in screen size, mobile broadband, and

processing power, today’s smartphones and tablets allow travelers to
get work done nearly as efficiently as they can in the office.

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Recover Deleted Files

Don’t Panic. . . Yet

Recuva is an example of a free file recovery utility that lets you If you know the type of file you’re looking for, you can often narrow
scan whole drives or search specific directories. your search parameters to find them quickly.

F
ew computer-related mishaps delete something, Windows doesn’t To see if your missing files simply
can be more devastating than actually obliterate it like you might made their way to the Recycle Bin,
the accidental deletion from imagine; instead Windows removes double-click it from the Desktop to
your computer of something—or the file record marker and leaves the view the files therein. If you find
many somethings—that are impor- file itself fully intact. The reason it’s any files you’d rather hang onto,
tant to you. Before you panic, know important to stop what you’re doing right-click the files individually and
that there’s a very good possibility as soon as you discover your inad- click Restore. This places the file in
that your files can be recovered. In vertent action, is because Windows the folder in which it existed before
this article, we’ll walk you through a designates the home of your de- it was sent to the Recycle Bin. You
few procedures that could help you leted file as ready for paving over; can also drag files you want to res-
undo your unintended deletions. the next time your computer writes cue out of the Recycle Bin and onto
any data to the hard drive, there’s your Desktop.
Gently Apply The Brakes a chance it’ll overwrite the file you If you’ve scanned the Recycle Bin
When you think you’ve deleted didn’t intend to delete. Once that but can’t find the files you need to
something by accident, the first happens, even the forensic experts recover, then check to see if the file
thing you should do is stop using may have difficulty raising your files has just been moved. Explore fold-
your computer. Don’t install up- from the dead. But before we look ers in and near the folder you were
dates, launch programs, or create into how to recover permanently de- working in to see if you accidentally
new files. Don’t even save the work leted files, let’s make sure you didn’t misplaced it. The Rename option is
you’re working on, if you can help it. just perform a temporary deletion. also within close proximity of the
Files you’ve temporarily deleted Delete operation, so check to make
(we’ll talk about these in a minute) Say It Ain’t So sure you didn’t accidentally rename
are the easiest to recover. The more Files you drag and drop into the the folder or file you “misplaced.”
difficult files to recover are those Recycle Bin or on which you right-
that have been “permanently” delet- click and select Delete, aren’t per- Undo “Permanent”
ed, at least according to the operat- manently deleted; as a result, they Windows considers files that you
ing system. When you permanently can often be the easiest to recover. actually watched blink out of exis-

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Most file recovery utilities, like the freeware PC Inspector utility, let you Items sent to the Recycle Bin are some of the easiest to
browse recovered files in a familiar directory tree layout. recover. Just right-click and click Restore.

tence, i.e., those that didn’t reappear quickly. Most of these types of
in the Recycle Bin, to be “perma- Drive Recovery utilities let you perform directory
nently deleted.” These files can still The most basic form of file recov- searches, so you can scan for re-
potentially be recovered, but you’ll ery these types of utilities perform is coverable files in just the Docu-
need third-party software to do it. whole drive recovery. This will dis- ments folder, for instance.
One of the best ways to find this cover every recoverable file that was
kind of software is to perform an retrieved from the drive in question. Targeted File Recovery
Internet search using the key words For instance, if you run it on the C: Your best bet when using file re-
“file recovery” and “restore deleted drive, the utility will scan the entire covery software is to simply input
files.” The utilities you will find all drive and find recoverable files from the name of the file you misplaced
generally work the same. Once in- all of your drive C: folders. Typi- or deleted. Although the recovered
stalled on your computer, the utility cally, scanning an entire drive will file may not retain the exact name
will scan your storage for recover- take time. Depending on the size of for which you’re searching, it can
able files and then display any it the drive, it could take hours. And get you close enough to find your
finds. Some categorize the results by when the search is finished, it’ll dis- file. Some utilities offer the ability
type, others simply show them with play a bunch of data and files you to search for a given file type, such
their file extensions, leaving you to don’t care to recover. (It’s unlikely as photos or text documents, which
determine that MP3s and WAVs are that you need to recover files from can save even more time.
songs, DOCs and TXTs are docu- the Temp folder.) Sifting through all
ments, and MOVs and MP4s are these extraneous recovered files to Last Resort
videos. Then all you need to do is find what you need can be difficult If the file recovery utilities you
highlight or select the files you want and time-consuming. tried don’t work, there are numer-
to recover and click the appropriate ous organizations that specialize in
execution button. For the most part, Directory Recovery professional file recovery. If the hard
these utilities will put the files into a If you can narrow the search drive is corrupted or damaged in a
new folder on your Desktop, so you range slightly, you may be able fire, flood, or other incident, these
can easily access them. to perform the search much more folks may be your only hope. ●

Smart Computing / May 2013 71