I am still here…

Hello:

Sorry I’m a little late on this weeks entry, between reinstalling Vista on my computer, and work and other things I am finally here. Last week I decided that it was time for me to reinstall Vista on my computer because my computer had been getting slower and I had noticed some minor little problems creeping up so it was time to reformat my hard disc and reinstall Vista.

If you have never reinstalled your OS, you really should especially if you are running any version of Windows on your home computer. As time goes by Windows has a tendency to get bogged down and corrupted and thus will slow down your computer. This will even happen if you don’t get a virus. When you format your hard disc, and reinstall Windows you are setting your computer to the way it was when you first got it. Believe me, when you do this you will notice your computer running much faster.

I think that part of affordable portable tech is knowing how to keep what you currently have running well as long as you can, so I thought I would take a few minutes and kind of go through how to reinstall Windows on your computer. The first thing I do want to point out is before you can do this you need to make sure you have the reinstall / Windows disc that came with your computer. If you do not have these then you will most likely end up buying a Windows Disc from a store that sells computers and software. Of course if you are using a old version of Windows (before XP) you will have a hard time finding a copy since MicroSoft has not made them for a long time. I will also mention that even if you are not going to reinstall your OS (Operating System) today it would still be a good idea to see if you have these disc’s because if you are running XP it is going to get more difficult to find it for sale since MicroSoft is no longer selling it in stores. I have seen a few copies of it at some stores, but as time goes by it will get harder to find.

Since different computers go about it differently, I am going to give a kind of generic guide to reinstalling Windows on your computer. Now I’ll be honest I have never reinstalled OS X on a Macintosh computer, so while some of these steps would be good general ideas to follow, I am aiming this article primarily at Windows users.

1.  Make sure you back up all files that you have created. This includes word-processing and other ‘office’ documents, music files, photographs, and any other files you don’t want to loose. If you have an external hard drive you might just want to copy your entire documents folder that is usually found on the desk top. If you don’t have an external hard drive then you can burn them to a cd (cd’s) or a dvd (dvd’s). This is very important because you will need to erase your entire hard drive in your computer. If you don’t save it, you will loose it!

2.  Insert the back up disc in to your computer and reboot. Once the computer has booted to the disc, follow the instructions on the screen. If you are given the option to just copy the Windows files to your computer and save all your setting verses reformatting choose reformatting.

3.  Once it is done reformatting the drive, your computer will automatically install Windows. At this time the computer may restart several times, this is normal so just sit back and let it do it’s thing.

4.  Once Windows is reinstalled, it is not ready to be used yet. Turn on the Windows Firewall, which can be accessed via the Control Panel. You then will need to go on line and down load every update that MicroSoft has to offer, in order to make sure that Windows is up to date. You will need to do this until there are absolutely no more updates! This can take a very long time, but it is vital to your systems security!

5.  Before you go anywhere on the ‘net, except for updating Windows, you need to install anti virus software! It would be annoying to get a virus and have to reinstall Windows all over again, before you even get it up and running!

6.  Now reinstall whatever software that you need. Do not necessarily install all the programs that you had before, just install the ones that you know you need. If the need for another program becomes necessary reinstall it at that time. This will prevent your computer from getting all that stuff that caused it to slow down in the first place!

7.  Finally copy all your personal files, music, and photographs (and whatever else you saved) to your hard drive. If you do have an external drive you might want to think about storing all your music and photographs on it, then you will not be taking up so much space on your internal drive.

Well I hope you find this useful, and that you will write me so I can know if I should continue with this blog. So far I’ve only hear from one reader, and while I am grateful for that, it is difficult for me to remain excited about this if I feel that most people are not interested in it. If you don’t like what I write, please post a comment and let me know what you think I should change. I am open to suggestions.

Take care,

Max

Got a new cell phone…

Hi everyone!

I got a new cell phone, the Sony Ericsson W350, and while I can’t say it is the best cell phone on the market I think it is going to meet my needs. First of all I was not looking for a smart phone because I already have a iPod Touch that I use for things like my calendar, pod casts, contacts, and wifi internet. All I wanted was a cheap, simple phone that had expandable music and could play ‘real’ music not just MIDI files. Actually this phone meets those needs nicely and even came with some features that I did not ask for, such as a camera.

Now I really like that it is a very thin phone, with a built in mp3 player, and it uses AT&T’s Edge network. The Edge network is not as fast as 3G but it is much faster than what I was using before with my very old Blackberry. When I was using my Blackberry it was too old for the Edge network and using it for looking up information on the ‘net was equal to using dial up service. What I find kind of amazing is that I was charged 30.00/month for unlimited internet on my Blackberry, even though it was a very old model just because it was a Blackberry. Now I am charged only 15.00/month and get much faster service! I will never totally understand phone companies, either cell or land line. I feel that all phone companies are just trying to rip their customers off.

There is one thing that is kind of disappointing about my new phone. It has a flip cover that only covers up the key pad, not the screen. On this flip pad is the controls for the Mp3 player, and all those buttons do is press against the number keys – kind of cheap, but it does work well. The music sounds good on the built in speaker, but I hope to one day get a device that will let me use headphones so I can hear music in stereo.

The camera, which is something I really don’t care about, is just 1.3MP. Cell phone cameras have never really impressed me since I already have a nice digital camera that does a much better job. I consider photography to be my passion, and I try to use the best camera I can afford. If all you want is a easy way to take quick pictures to put on the ‘net I suppose this is okay, but I enjoy printing my pics and framing them, and occasionally showing them at art shows.

The phone only cost 20.00 with a 2 year plan and I feel it is a good buy. Of course this is just my opinion.

Remember if you are looking for a phone, stop and think about what you really want. If you don’t need all the features of a smart phone, then don’t get one. There is nothing wrong with just getting a phone to talk on!

Well let me know what you think of my ‘mini’ review. If you have a piece of portable tech that you would like to talk about post a comment and let me know, I would love to hear from you!

My first tech device

While I want the focus of this blog to be on Affordable Portable Tech, I don’t want to just limit it to one narrow topic. There are times when I might want to discuss something different, yet still keep the overall topic of Technology. Today I thought I would take a look back to the first tech item I ever owned which was the Commodore Vic-20 computer that I bought in October 1982.

The Vic is no where even close to the computers we have today, actually a Apple iPod Touch is a more powerful computer. While the Vic-20 has never been considered a ‘powerful’ computer, I still think it was a great way for me to get into the world of computers. The Vic-20 came with 5k of ram, which the ‘operating system’ used 1.5k thus leaving 3.5k for actual programming. Even back in 1981 when it first came out, 3.5k was considered very small. Fortunately there was a way to expand the memory via cartridges. I don’t understand all the details about how the Vic-20 used memory, but I believe that 32k was the maximum amount of memory that it could handle according to Commodore. I do seem to vaguely remember seeing an ad or reading a article about expanding the Vic-20’s memory to 64k but I never actually saw it done.

Probably the #1 oddity of this computer was that it could only support a 22 column screen. Needless to say this made doing any serious work difficult. There were ‘business’ programs written for the Vic including word processors, database software, and a simple check book program. I don’t remember if there was ever a spreadsheet program written for it, but I kind of doubt it.

You could buy an external 300 kb modem that would allow you , for a fee, to login to various online companies such as Compuserve. There was no World Wide Web back then, but there were quite a few Bulletin Board Services where you could down load games, send people messages and stuff like that. All the messages, and programs were usually free, but you did have to pay for the phone call and at 300 kb it didn’t take long before your phone bill started to get expensive.

While there was a floppy drive for the Vic, I got my programs on cassette and cartridge. The 1540 disk drive was more than I could afford at the time, and since most of the programs were not very big it usually didn’t take long to load them up and to save them when I was finished. I think Commodore had a great idea on using a ‘dataset’ to store programs on cassettes. Many companies just let you use any cassette player/recorder that you wanted to, which meant spending much time trying to set the volume and stuff set just right so the computer could understand what the tape recorder was trying to say.

The Commodore Vic-20 was an excellent game machine for it’s time. The graphics were big and bright, and it used the standard Atari joystick ports. The best games came on cartridge, so all you had to do was insert the cartridge in the back and turn on the computer and the game would start up right away! One of my favorite games for the Vic was Radar Rat Race where you were a mouse being chased by cats as you went around a maze trying to find the cheese without getting killed by a cat. It was a knock off of a Namco game, but I don’t remember what it was called.

One of the neatest things about having a computer back then was most of them had the BASIC programming language built in. There were quite a few magazines that would have BASIC programs in them, and all you had to do was type in the program fix any errors you would most likely make, save it and then run it. There were two great advantages to this, it was a cheap way to add programs to your library, and it was a way to learn how to program. While I never learned how to program, I did spend many hours typing in programs. 

Commodore would go on to sell over 1 million Vic-20 computers, making it one of the most successful computers ever made. When it was initially released it was the first color computer to break the $300.00 price barrier, and by the time Commodore retired it the price had dropped down to $100.00!

Well that is the story of my first tech device, what about you readers out there? Please comment about my story, and how about telling me about the first tech device you ever had. Was it a computer, digital camera, game machine, PDA, or something else? I would love to hear your stories!

Thanks for reading my post, and I hope you have a great weekend!

Try looking for what works for you

There have been many times when I’ve wanted something because it looks cool, or is very inexpensive, and yet when I stop and think about it I have to ask why in the world I would want it. Recently I ran across a Nextar GPS device for about $40.00 and it looked cool and eventually I bought it. At this point I should mention that I don’t even have a car or any other type of motorized transportation and very rarely leave the city that I live in. Buying tech for the sake of just buying it can lead to some pretty silly decisions. Now I keep telling myself that I will find some use for it, but the reality is it spends most of the time just setting on my desk at home. So I think that this is a great example of how buying something just because it looks cool is not smart shopping.

I guess that the reason why I’m mentioning this is just a reminder for all of us that when we are in the store and looking at all the amazing gadgets that are for sale these days, to take a minute and think about it before you lay down your money. The neatest, coolest, greatest bargain in the world is wasted money if the device just ends up in a drawer some where. Personally I think a great idea is if you see something that you have just got to have, take a walk around the store, or around the mall, take a drive, or maybe even go home for a while and give yourself time to really think about it. If you decide that you really do need it, most likely it will still be there when you go back, and if it’s on sale it will probably still be on sale after you take a walk around the block.

There is something else you might want to think about before you buy something, you might get a better deal at another store or online. I think this is a great idea especially if the device is expensive, don’t end up kicking yourself because you later find the same gadget cheaper at another store. It doesn’t take long to compare prices, especially now that there are many cell phones that allow you to go online no matter where you are.

Along with the idea of finding a better price ask yourself , can you find the same thing, or something similar, used or in a bargain bin somewhere else? As I’ve said before, check out pawn shops, thrift stores, discount stores, or go online to sites like Ebay and see what is available there. Somethings are just to new to find used, but other things have been around long enough that you might find a previous model that does what you want for a much lower price. Never hurts to look, right?

So, I guess to just sum things up if you are about to buy a really cool gadget that you really, really want stop and ask yourself these two questions:

1.  Is this something I’m really going to use?

2. Am I getting the device at the best possible price?

Well I guess that is all for today, thanks for taking the time to read this I appreciate it very much. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment section and I will do my best to answer your question in a future post.

Take care!

What to do with your old gadgets.

Well I guess I just thought I would drop in and add another posting concerning affordable, portable tech. I’m going to take a short break away from buying tech, and instead talk about what to do with the gadgets that you no longer want. In todays world being ‘green’ is the popular thing to do, and for a good reason, when we throw our tech in to the dumpster all we end up doing is filling up our local dump with things that contain many different types of toxins. I won’t even pretend to know all the poisons that are used to make all these neat gadgets that we all love to buy and use. What I do know for sure is that throwing them in to a land fill does not make the problem go away, as time goes by all those poisons leak out of the cases and in to the ground and then in to our water. Yuck!

So what should you do when you are ready to upgrade to a new iPod, and no longer want your old one? There are a couple of things you can do that will prolong the life of your old technology. First of all you can sell it. While the device may be old to you, to someone else it might be a step up for them. While there are many different ways that you can sell old gadgets, such as Ebay, pawn shops, post it on a bulletin board at your local laundry mat / grocery store, or even have a garage sale. There is one thing that I would like to point out here, when you are trying to figure out how much to ask for your device, you need to remember that you will not get a lot of money for it. Electronics are well known for not keeping their value over the years. The 1500.00 computer you bought in 2004, if your lucky, might get you 200.00 in 2009. If your looking to make some kind of profit on any type of electronic gadgets it is just not going to happen.

Another thing you might want to do with your old technology, as long as it is not too old is give it to an organization that can’t afford to buy the newest tech. around. Got an old PS2 laying around that you want to get rid of, how about donating it to a local Boys/Girls club so local kids can have some fun playing games which will keep them off the streets. Have you got a 3 mp digital camera that you don’t want, see if there is a club in your town that helps kids from poor families get involved in photography? The possibilities are endless. Just make sure that you don’t give these originations stuff that is REALLY old, like made before 2000, and please make sure that it still works. You want to help people, and not just dump your junk on someone else.

If you don’t want to donate your old tech to a group of some kind, how about giving it to someone you know who either can’t afford technology or might not be willing to spend money on something like a mp3 player because they don’t think they could ever learn how to use it. Giving someone a used digital camera might open a whole new world to someone who never knew how exciting it could be to learn something new like digital photography, computing, digital music, and other such stuff. Your gift might give an elderly person a new look at life.

Please, before you trash your old technology, try to find a way to extend it’s life by giving it to someone else. Yes eventually it will need to be tossed, but at least by giving it away you are probably going to prevent it from ending up in a landfill for at least several more years.

One last thing, if you can’t find someone to give your old tech to, most towns and cities have places where you can drop off old gadgets and they will be recycled, as much as is possible. Remember, though, the goal is to keep each and every gadget out of the landfill for as long as possible!

I’m beginning to wonder if anyone is even looking at my blog, please post a comment and let me know what you think about this blog, and if you find it interesting and useful. I’m going to keep writing, at least one post a week, and it sure would help if I knew someone was reading this.

Till next time,

Hello and Welcome!

My name is Max, and I live in Northern Colorado. After making several posts in my portable video game blog, I got thinking about how my interest is much more than ‘just’ games, it is technology in general. To be more precise I am interested, okay passionate, about portable technology. I wanted to do something different though, figuring that there are already many different blogs and podcasts about technology. I am not a rich man, and I’m willing to bet there are many more in my boat, who love technology but can’t afford to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on it. So I’ve decided to devote this blog to Affordable Portable Tech!

What I hope to do over the coming days, weeks, and months is discuss ways that portable tech can be purchased without  breaking the bank – your bank and mine! I hope to discus such topics as:

     What is portable tech?

     New vs Used

     Pay as you go phones – Do you save money?

     Is it safe to buy used video games?

     How much computing power do you really need?

     Saving money shopping for portable tech.

    Laptop computers vs Netbooks what is the difference?

     Mp3 players

     Digital cameras – still and video

Along with these and other particular topics I will try and keep up with what is going on in the tech market. If I run across what I feel is a good deal on a certain item I will try and pass it on to you readers. Along with finding good deals on portable tech, I will let you know if I come across something that should be avoided! I am sure more things will be added as time goes by.

Of course without readers this blog will wither away, so please if you read something you like or don’t like, or just wish to make a comment please feel free to post in the comments section. Regarding comments, the only thing I request is that no foul language be used because I want this to be a place that is ‘kid friendly’. Also please keep your posts on topic, no spam will be allowed. Any comments that do not follow these 2 simple rules will be deleted.

So I will end this first post by stating my goal “Helping people find affordable portable tech.”

Buying used, part 2

In my last entry I talked about buying a used computer, now I would like to take some time and talk about buying other tech devices used. As I stated before, buying used can be a great way to purchase electronic gadgets, cameras, Mp3 players, game machines, and other such devices, but I should add that before you go and spend your hard earned money you should be careful. Below is a list of some things that you should consider before you purchase a tech item used.

1.  Try before you buy. I have noticed some places that sell things used do not offer any sort of refund policy, so it is really a good idea to try the item out in the store. If the store will not let you try it out, or it has dead batteries in it and you can’t try it out then don’t buy it. 

2.  Bring along a few AA or AAA batteries in case the item your looking at has dead batteries. Ask if you can put in a battery to try it out, and if the store says no, then don’t buy it. Of course this only works if the item your looking at uses standard batteries. If the device does not use standard batteries, then ask the clerk to plug it in for you. Once again if the clerk will not do that, don’t buy it!

3.  Check to see what kind of memory it uses. Personally I find it so much more easy to have all my devices that use memory sticks, to use the same kind of memory stick. You also might want to bring along an extra stick of memory to try in the device just to make sure that it will read and write to it.

4.  There are some places that do not offer a warranty on anything they sell. I have mixed feelings regarding this. If I have a chance to try it out and makes sure it works, and it cost under $50.00, then I’m willing to take a chance. This is especially true if I’ve bought things from the store before and feel that I can trust them. On more expensive items, defiantly over $100.00, I will generally want some kind of warranty even if it is only for a week. 

5. Remember that there is a reason why the device was sold by it’s original owner. It may be that the person was simply upgrading to a new version of the item, or it might be more serious. If at all possible see if you can find out why the original owner decided to sell it in the first place.

6. If you are unsure about what to look for when buying a particular item, such as a Mp3 player, or a digital camera, then bring along a friend or family member who is more familiar with whatever it is your shopping for. It is a sad reality that you can’t always trust the person doing the selling.

7.  Depending where you are shopping, it never hurts to ask if the store might be willing to drop the price a bit. I have found that some pawn shops are willing to negotiate on prices if what your looking at has been sitting in the display for a while. While I can’t say every pawn shop, thrift store, or discount store will lower their prices you will not know unless you ask.

8.  A lot of the items you buy used are bound to have a few scratches, but you still should take the time and examine the body of the device to make sure nothing is cracked, broken, or missing. There are certain devices, such as portable game machines, where one or two small scratches won’t affect the overall use of it, but having a bunch of scratches on the screen will make using it a lot less fun. There are some things that you do not want to have any scratches, such as a camera lens, when buying a used camera take special care to check the lens and the display on the back to make sure there are no scratches. So take the time to carefully examine the body of the machine your looking to buy.

9.  Look at the battery compartment. Open the battery compartment and look to see if there are signs of corrosion. While this is not always true, remember if there is battery acid in this area, then there is a chance that the acid may have got in to the rest of the device.

10.  Look around, and compare prices. With the prices of technology constantly falling, you don’t want to buy something used, and then discover that for a few dollars more you could have bought a brand new, more advanced model.

Well these are just some of the things I’ve discovered over the years as I’ve bought used tech items. There have been times when I have managed to find some wonderful deals, and then there have been times when I’ve ended up wasting my money. That, my friends, is what this blog is all about, helping you learn from the mistakes I’ve made over the years. Keep coming back, I’ve decided that I will probably add new entries once or twice a week at most for now.

Please let me know what you think of my posts, what you like, don’t like, love or hate. Please respond so I can know if I am developing an audience. I enjoy doing this, but knowing that others are reading what I have to say, making comments, and asking questions will make this even better!

Take care,

Mad Max

Buying Used Part 1

To most people there is nothing quite as exciting as buying something new. It doesn’t matter if it’s a car, television, computer, cell phone, or a house. Whatever it is, buying something new is usually exciting and fun. The problem with buying new things is that they can end up being quite costly, and if your new thing is a tech item you stand the good chance that it will be replaced by something ‘better’ before you know it. For many of us, keeping up with the latest technology and buying bleeding edge products is out of the question, it just cost to much!

I am a firm believer that most people don’t need to buy the latest tech, instead they would be spending their money more wisely by going the used route. Like most people, I don’t need to have the ‘top of the line’ computer, or cell phones, cameras, and other tech items. I have a mixture of new and used things and have managed to find some great deals at my local pawn shops, used game stores, and even garage sales.

Let me give you an example how buying used can be a better deal than buying new. Let’s say that you are looking for a computer for surfing the web, doing some office work, and sending emails, you could buy a new computer with a dual core processor, 6 gigs of ram, a 750 gig hard drive, and a 22 inch monitor with a powerful graphics card. Depending on the details of the system you could easily spend over a thousand dollars. This is fine if you got the cash, and plan on using it for some more powerful programs like Photoshop, and you plan on playing some of the new video games that are coming out.

If you stop and think about it, though, do you really need a new computer to surf the net, do some paper work, and send emails? I believe the answer is no. You can go to used computer stores, or pawn shops and find some really good deals on used laptop and desktop computers that are only a few years old. Why spend money for something new that will include things you will probably don’t need when you can save hundreds of dollars and buy something that will meet your needs just fine. 

Now I should say that buying used is good, but especially when buying a computer you don’t want to buy something that is ‘too used’. My advice would be don’t by a used computer over 5 years old,  unless you can get it REALLY cheap (under a hundred dollars) and your sure that it will run any software that you need. A few specs that you might want to remember include:

Processor:  Make sure that it has at least a P4 running at a min. of 800 mhz

Ram: Needs at least 512 meg of ram

Storage: To handle some of the large files that get created these days don’t go for less than a 60 gig hard drive. Make sure that the computer has a optical drive, since that is how most software comes these days.

Video: Even if you don’t plan on playing games, make sure the video card comes with at least 128 meg of ram and can display a minimum of SVGA.

The ‘net: If the computer doesn’t have wifi built in make sure that there is at least a way to add it in the future. This is especially true if your looking for a laptop. 

Most computers made since at least the year 2000 will have USB connectors, and some will include some type of firewire connector. If the computer does not have at least USB then don’t buy it, because it is pretty old and you will have a hard time connecting a lot of the newer printers, external storage, mice, and other things.

If the computer you are buying is a PC I would suggest making sure it is at least running Windows XP, since it came out in 2001 and the computers that can run it well fit in the age limit of how old a computer you should get. If you are looking at a Mac, I would suggest that it be running nothing older than OS X 10.1. Unless the computer your looking at has all the software you need and want, it will be difficult finding software that doesn’t require some form of OS X.

These are just some brief guide lines on what to look for when buying a used computer. There are some really good deals out there in the used computer market, but be careful and make sure you try before you buy!

Computers are not the only tech item you can find used. In my next blog I will look at some other tech items that you can save money on if you buy it used. Until next time – Mad Max!

What do I mean by ‘portable tech’?

January 9, 2009

 

I guess that the simplest answer to this question would be any electronic device that you can carry with you, and that you can use at other places besides your home. Imagine something you can use in a restaurant, or at a park, or on vacation, or even while walking down the street that is what I would describe as portable tech. If the device requires a battery to work, then that is what I want to talk about in this blog.

The amazing thing about portable tech is that it can be just about anything. computers, cell phones, video game machines, televisions, cameras, and mp3 players. In recent years things have changed a lot. We are seeing things that now combine several tech ideas in to one gadget. Now days the idea of a cell phone that only makes calls is very old fashion. Over the past several years cell phones have grown in to devices that have camera’s in them, along with the ability of playing music, and video, and video games, you can send text messages, surf the ‘net, and if you desire you can also make phone calls with them! The days of having to carry a phone, PDA, mp3 player, game machine and other devices are going the way of the record player!

I will say, though, that these all in one devices are great but I still think that there are certain things that are ‘better’ if you buy them separate. While some cell phones now come with a 5 mp camera, if you want to get more ’serious’ about taking pictures you are still going to need a stand alone camera. While the iPhone has some good games on it, I don’t think it is nearly as good as the Nintendo DS lite and the Sony PSP.

Portable tech is amazing, and it is becoming an important part of many people’s daily lives, but as this happens things can get much more confusing, and much more expensive. While there are people who can afford to buy the latest and greatest gadgets, I think the reality of the matter is most people have limited budgets for things like this and find it difficult to figure out which is the better buy. I hope that this blog will become a place where you can come and figure out how to get the best tech for the best price.

I know that I kind of got off the topic a bit, sorry about that. (I have a tendency to babble at times ). Please keep coming back. I don’t know if I will post daily, weekly, or a couple of times a week, because I’m new to blogging and I hope that as my skills get better this blog will also get better!

That is all for now, I will see you soon!

“Helping people find affordable, portable tech”