Total Pageviews

Monday, February 21, 2011

Cell Phone or “Droid”?



I’m a little embarrassed to admit that up until relatively recently I was extremely low tech when it came to my phone. I’m a computer geek and a purist. My phone was my phone and my computer was my computer and never the two shall meet. I resisted for a long time. I dipped my toe in the pool ever so gingerly when I went to a phone with a full QWERTY keypad. But that was as far as I was willing to go. That is until my best friend got a droid…When I saw all the cool stuff she could do with her phone my inner geek got the better of me. I mean come on! It’s like carrying a mini-computer around with you. I can text, surf the web, take awesome pictures, send email, view documents, read a book, track a flight, play music, watch a movie, find my way, print to my wireless printer, process payments from clients, not to mention about a gazillion other things…oh yeah…and make phone calls. I LOVE my HTC EVO! I have to say it’s a big boy at 4.8” by 2.6” by .05” with a 4.3” LCD screen and weighing in at 6 oz. But given all I can do with it, I don’t mind a little extra heft. It comes standard with 8 GB of storage for all the awesome pictures you will take plus a standard 3.5 mm headset jack. So for all of you hold outs, do yourself a favor. Run, don’t walk to your nearest provider store and get yourself a droid! J

Friday, February 18, 2011

My “Mac” Experience…Part 4



 So yesterday we left off with my reinstalling the Mac OS several times before learning my lesson. Once I figured out what I was doing wrong, things progressed quite well. I downloaded and installed some cool and useful apps and now have a kick butt laptop to work with. But what you really want to know is the bottom line, right? Is the Mac that much better than the PC? In my humble opinion it comes down to personal preference. I’m not going to say I am so in love with it that I can’t imagine going back to my Windows PC. I’m an equal opportunity Geek. They are both powerful, useful machines. Much the way a parent can’t play favorites, I love them both for their unique qualities. If you are in a quandary and can’t decide which to go with, go to BestBuy and check them both out. Use the keyboard and touch pad, open and close programs and files and see what you think. Do a little more research. Decide what you are willing to spend. You will come to your own conclusion and you will designate yourself either a Mac or a PC person. Or maybe you are like me and will need to have one of each. J

Thursday, February 17, 2011

My “Mac” Experience…Part 3

Yesterday we left off with the fact that PC users will find the Mac seems a little backwards to them. Not technologically but literally. I must say that it was a snap connecting to my network and wireless printer. But this is where things get a little dicey. Keep in mind that I had never so much as laid hands on a Mac before this so cut me a little slack. At any rate, I wanted the Mac to be part of my existing home network which up to this point consisted of nothing but PC’s. To this end, I started changing permissions on the Mac. Unfortunately, my inner control freak got the better of me and I decided to try and change the permissions on the entire hard drive. NEVER, I repeat NEVER do this on a Mac! Much to my dismay, I got a slew of extension errors which I said ok to and ignored. I then tried to restart the machine…tried being the key word here. Upon restart I got what I have seen others refer to as the “pinwheel of death”, which is an apt description. After waiting for what seemed like hours with no progress I restarted. Again, the same result. Ok no biggie. I’ll reinstall the operating system. That went smoothly enough. Again I tried changing the permissions. Yes, I can be a little stubborn and dense at times. Same result…after 3 tries I finally Googled the issue and found the answer. I know I stated this before but it bears repeating. NEVER try to change the permissions on the entire hard drive! Apparently it scrambles the file system beyond repair and the only choice is to reinstall the operating system. Lesson learned; the hard way I might add. But hey, I got a lot of experience installing the Mac OS which is a good thing. I will end Part 3 here. Tune in tomorrow for the 4th and final chapter in my Mac series. J

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My “Mac” Experience…Part 2

Yesterday we left off with me arriving at BestBuy. Right of the bat I noticed that the box was tiny! I mean I thought I was picking up a router or maybe a netbook but certainly not a 13” laptop. I couldn’t wait to get it home and out of its protective yet miniscule packaging. I admit I was so full of anticipation I had to peek while stopped at a light. The drive home seemed to take forever! Finally I arrived and into the house I rushed clutching what promised to be the most wonderful piece of technology I own. I held my breath as I opened the box…Oh!…she is beautiful; all gleaming aluminum with that cute little apple on top. The first thing I noticed is that she feels solid and sturdy. That’s good news for people who are hard on their laptops. I plugged her in and pressed the power button. Another cute apple on the screen to greet me followed by a very catchy musical interlude while welcome flashed on the screen in every conceivable language. I went through the standard type set up of languages, time, personal information etc. and finally I arrive at the home screen. Ok, I have to say, I’m diggin’ it so far. The second thing I noticed is that it’s backwards…let me elaborate. Those of us who use a PC are familiar with closing, minimizing or maximizing a window from the upper right hand corner. On a Mac, this is all done from the upper left hand corner and all the icons are across the bottom of the screen. Can you say different?? And this is where I will end Part 2. Tune in tomorrow for Part 3 of my Mac experience J

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

My “Mac” Experience…Part 1

Let’s get something straight. I’m a PC girl through and through. However being the good Geek that I am, I realize that sometimes it’s good to branch out. Not to mention, I would like to be able to service Macs as well as PC’s. With that in mind, I logged onto the BestBuy website and found myself a powerful and aesthetically pleasing MacBook Pro. Do I need yet another computer? Not really; but I felt compelled to find out what all the fuss is about. I have friends who are Mac people and they swear by them and wouldn’t dream of going back to a PC. The super powerful and seemingly invincible Mac…and so that is why I almost ecstatically spent $1300 on another computer. Yes $1300!! Kind of pricey for my PC blood to say the least. I mean realistically you can spend $500 and get a pretty decent laptop albeit not a Mac. So I comforted myself with the knowledge that I am doing this for the good of my business. Anyway, off to BestBuy I drove for my new “toy”. I will end Part 1 here. Tune in tomorrow for part 2 J

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Press Release

Computer issues? Call Geek Girl PC!


There’s a new technological super-hero in town called Geek Girl PC.  Owner/Technician Karen Canfield is bringing honest and affordable computer help to Sarasota.  From helping you out with your Facebook page to replacing a bad hard drive in your laptop or desktop, she can do it all.

Karen started her tech career in 1998 as a Database Coordinator for a small company in CT.  She moved on to become an Information Technology Manager with the same company.  Through it all she has always had time to help family and friends with their computer issues.  “When I was young, I was always the one to volunteer to hook up the new stereo, or VCR or DVD player”, says Canfield.  Now she is following her passion and helping people with everything from home networking issues to setting up that new cell phone.

Geek Girl is your one stop solution for installing operating systems or software, ridding your machine of a nasty virus, upgrading the memory or other hardware on your desktops or laptops and troubleshooting any situations with your computers.  Get more from Windows or Internet Explorer with Geek Girl tutoring or have them answer questions about Microsoft Office applications.  Geek Girl is available in the evening and on weekends for your convenience and covers the area from Bradenton to Venice.  Geek Girl can be reached at 941-883-1730 or GeekGirlPC@gmail.com.  Also check out the company’s website at http://www.geekgirlpcrepair.com/ for more info.
 
February 10, 2011 Sarasota, FL.