Jessie
posted by Jessie on 03/19/2012
As most of us already know, water and electronics are basically worst enemies. You wouldn’t toss your hair-dryer in the bath tub, you take off your nice digital watch before dunking your hands in a sink, and in the same vein, you don’t want water getting anywhere near your several hundred (or several thousand) dollar computer. The reason liquids can be so damaging to electronics is that water (or more specifically, the free electrons in most water and liquids) is conductive, and bridges connections in the circuitry that you really don’t want interacting. Corrosion can also be a factor in damaging your computer, depending on the type and amount of liquid, length of exposure, and material of the computer components.
Any way you frame it, liquid on your computer is one of the worst things that can happen. Liquid damage can be insidious, with symptoms not appearing for days or weeks after a spill occurs, and even a tiny amount can irreparably ruin your machine.
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posted by Jessie on 12/15/2011
Working in the tech industry, and specifically being in the business of servicing Windows computers as well as Macs, one of the most common problems I see is this: viruses. Countless times the same scene plays out: a frazzled-looking PC user comes in, holding their laptop or desktop, and tells the sad tale of how they were using their computer when, suddenly, they were infected. This can come in many forms: endless pop-ups, fake anti-virus software telling them they need to run a “free scan”, regular program use stopped by crashing, all leading to the computer becoming slow or unusable. Sometimes, I see the same people come back again and again, with the same issue. Read on to learn how to avoid it.
posted by Jessie on 09/06/2011
The current prevalent trend in technology is moving all of our data and applications to “the cloud”, which means storing it online using a service rather than on your own computer or devices. This has the upside of providing an excellent way to remove the pressure of backing up everything on your computer compulsively; knowing that everything important to your digital life, from emails to childhood photos to your 100-page thesis, is stored somewhere “else” (and not having the only copy on your 8 year old failing PC, or even anything physical in your possession that might one day have to survive a drop, house fire, or just getting lost) is a blessing. Is Backupify the solution to this problem?
posted by Jessie on 06/03/2011
Google's free phone service, Google Voice, has been out for a little while now. After a quiet start, it has really started to build its functionality and become a fantastic resource. I initially decided to try it because of my carrier’s unsatisfactory voicemail system- too many lost voicemails, and a complete inability to notify me when I’d received a new one. Switching to Google Voice easily validated itself with its voicemail functionality alone, but as I’ve discovered it’s also so much more. And considering the only cost is the time to set it up, there’s little to lose, and a lot to gain.
posted by Jessie on 04/21/2011
When we heard about this year’s Cancer Connection fundraiser Bill's Challenge VI & the Grand Trikathlon, we knew we wanted to participate. This was the sixth year of the annual event, which raises money through donations for this unique organization, which offers extensive, holistic rehabilitation services for cancer survivors. This year was also the third year that Bill’s Challenge was in the form of a Grand Trikathlon. Yes, that’s right, a trikathlon.
posted by Jessie on 03/16/2011
Public broadcasting has been all over the news recently as federal funding for PBS and NPR is in jeopardy. Now more than ever, support from viewers is vital to public broadcasting, and for PBS pledge drives are incredibly important. This month local PBS station WGBY is running their March pledge drive, and some of us at left-click recently had the great experience of traveling down to their station in Springfield to take part. left-clickers Colin (our graphic designer), Dylan (one of our technicians), and I all took calls for an evening and showed our support for PBS.