While recently looking into changing my cell plan I noticed that unlimited talk time for domestic minutes is becoming more prevalent and at a reasonable price. It had me thinking about ditching my landline.
For those who are thinking the same thing you need to answer a few questions.
What are the current costs of your landline? What does it include? I have friends who have a plan that includes cable, internet and phone service. If they were to give up the phone service part they would actually pay more.
So they are keeping this plan and use the land line for faxing and as an emergency phone. Does an elderly person live with you or are you elderly? You may want to keep that landline phone regardless of the savings. My personal landline costs $10 monthly with unlimited calls anywhere in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Check with your landline carrier. They may offer you an incentive to stay with them if you are inclined to keep it. If you are not using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) – you still have phone service in the event you lose your electricity. That said, some VOIP may have a backup in the event you lose power. However after Hurricane Sandy I heard that some affected by it lost backup power. I am sure landline phones without VOIP lost service during Hurricane Sandy as well.
Do you fax? I presently do a limited amount of faxing using my all in one printer. Depending on how much faxing you do it may be beneficial to find an alternate way to send faxes. Your smartphone can also be used to send faxes.
Do you make international calls and if so how much? Would you be better served by getting an international plan for your cell phone? Can you use a video application like Skype or Facetime to make your international calls? If you are using one of these applications you can talk anytime, no matter where either of you are for free.
Because of the low rate I am paying and my occasional faxes I am keeping my landline for now. The day will come where my landline will join that rotary dial phone I had in my first apartment.
If you have further questions about whether or not to ditch your landline, how to keep it and pay less or other technology problems you may have I can be contacted at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com .
My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field with tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
With the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy please look at the attached link. http://mashable.com/2012/07/03/charging-solutions/ about some ways you may be able to recharge your devices in the event you lose power. Cell phone towers may be down and you may lose internet service but keep in mind that most smartphones have a built in light that could come in handy during these times. Also at this time if you are not using your cellphone, keep it charged. Use your phone as sparingly as possible to preserve power. On a personal note, since I will not be using my cellphone during the evening I will be turning it off to preserve my battery in case we lose power. Also use text messaging to reach out as this is likely to be more successful.
Before retiring, it will be a good idea to disconnect electrical power to televisions, computers, printers, etc. Have copies of any prescriptions. Use a smartphone if you have one or a phone with a camera to take a picture of them.
If you bank online, you may want to make sure that all bills that need to be paid in the next several days are accounted for and that you have money in your accounts to cover any recurring and other payments that you have set up. If you lose power, you may not be able to pay these bills and transfer money between accounts till power is restored.
Most of all be safe. Being safe is of utmost importance. Use common sense. Fill up water bottles, tea pots, etc..
As always I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 for your technology problems.
My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.
Computer training and many types of computer repairs can be done remotely. If you or someone you know needs either training to better use your computer or repairs I am now doing it on a remote basis in addition to in person locally.
http://computerconciergeny.com/3/post/2012/10/joinme-how-to-use-to-allow-someone-to-remotely-view-and-control-your-computer.html takes you to a narrative to use Join.me. It is a very user friendly site and it is easy to temporarily allow control of your computer. I also did an online video as well which is on the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyRSqpYNVQY
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
If you are having a computer problem someone elsewhere can view your screen and/or remotely control your computer temporarily to fix the problem. JoinMe is a good program to use. I have used it to help others fix their computer problems. It is very user friendly and no account setup is needed. There is both a free and paid version. I personally have not found a need for the paid version which currently costs $149 for an annual membership or $19 if you choose to use the paid service by the month. Note that if you are not connected to the internet, you cannot use this or any other program to share your computer with someone remotely. You also have the ability to talk or have a chat using Join.me.
The first thing you need to do if you have not already done so is to download the Join.me program onto your computer. Using your internet browser (for purposes of this illustration I am using Internet Explorer (IE) type “Join.me” in the address bar and then press “Enter”. The illustration below shows where the address bar is in case you are not familiar with using your browser.
Once you are in Join.me what you will see will include something in the picture below. You will notice the word “share” in orange lettering. Underneath it is “pro” which is in white letters with a gray background.
What you want to do next is click on “basic” which is next to “pro”. “basic” will then be in white letters with a gray background as shown in the picture below. You then want to click on the orange arrow to begin the download of the program. The location of the arrow is shown in the blue arrow pointing to it. Clicking on the orange arrow will begin the download. You may be prompted as to whether you wish to download the program. Select “Run” and then “Yes” or some variant of the affirmative. Once the download has completed and it should only take about a minute. The following icon will appear on your computer screen with other icons you have. For future sessions, clicking on this icon will allow you to share your screen and control of your computer in the manner shown below. The toolbar shown in the picture below is now showing. When you click on the Join.me icon above in the future it will bring up the same toolbar. Note that the mouse icon is gray. Keep this in mind for when you actually give control of your computer. You also will notice a 9 digit number. Every time you share your screen with someone, this number will change. It is the number you give to the person you wish to view your screen and if you desire also control your computer. When you give the other person the 9 digit number, they enter it from their own Join.me toolbar. Upon doing so, the mouse icon will turn from gray to orange. Once this occurs, your clicking on it will allow the person you have shared your screen with to control your computer. Once you click on the icon you will see underneath the mouse icon a menu to determine which viewer you wish to share control of your computer with. Assuming that only one person is viewing your screen, click on “Viewer 1” or the name of the person if the person has entered their name. If more than one person is viewing your computer, click on the viewer you wish to control your computer.
Once you have allowed control of your computer, the mouse icon will have an “x”. When you press the mouse icon at this point and underneath the icon select “stop sharing control”, the person you have been allowing to control your computer will no longer be allowed to control your computer until the next session when the process will need to start over.
Pressing the “x” in the program will allow you to exit Join.me. You will then be prompted “Exit join.me?” Clicking “exit” which is in orange with white lettering will exit you from the program.If you have additional questions about storing information on the internet, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com
My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.
Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
 If you are having a problem with your computer, someone elsewhere can view your screen and remotely control your computer temporarily to fix the problem. Join.me is a good program to use for this purpose. I have used it to help others fix their computer problems as well as show them how to better use their computer. It is very user friendly, easily installed in under a minute and no account setup is needed. There is both a free and pro version. I personally have not found a need for the pro version which currently costs $149 annually or $19 if you choose to use it by the month. For either version you can send files between all users. Note that if you are not connected to the internet you cannot use this or any other program to share your computer with someone remotely or to view someone else's. You also have the ability to talk online or have an online chat using Join.me as well. As mentioned, the whole process of downloading the Join.me program and placing the toolbar on your computer takes under a minute. When you first go to Join.me you will see a screen that looks similar to the one below. Under, "share your screen" click on "basic" and then click on the orange arrow key. This will begin your download. Follow the prompts and the Join.me toolbar will be in the upper middle of your screen. If you need to view someone else's screen enter the 9 digit code that the person sharing your screen gives to you and press the green arrow. _
 By just sharing your screen, you can use Join.me for doing a presentation as well. It is more than just a program to use if you have a computer problem or to solve someone else’s. I also know of a husband and wife who reviewed travel plans using it when one of them was out of town. These are just by using the free version. The pro version offers you such features as presenter swap, meeting scheduler and international conference lines. Whether or not you feel a need to use the pro version is up to you but as you can see, the free version has some good uses.
If you have additional questions about whether sharing your computer, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com
My Facebook page http://on.fb.me/MikesCCNY provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your computer and smartphone. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.Computer Concierge NY LLC, provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens New York area, Including Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellrose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
I was talking with a client the other day who is in the market for a new computer. He currently has an older computer, is a PC owner and is thinking about buying a Mac this time around. Wondering whether to go the Mac route or buy a PC again. It is a question I get on an ongoing basis.
There are advantages to both. Approximately 12% of computers in use today are Macs and PCs (Microsoft Operating System) account for 85% and 3% are other. A big factor is cost. If you buy a Mac expect to pay a premium for it. This is because Microsoft licenses its operating system to Dell, HP, Lenovo among others so there is competition. If you wish to buy a Mac, Apple is the only manufacturer. You also have more varieties to choose from when you are choosing a PC as the same companies Microsoft licenses its operating system to build their own models. Macs are not as prone to viruses and other forms of malware. Note that I did not say you cannot get a virus on a Mac. Those who program viruses are less likely to make them to affect a Mac due to their market share. When they asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks he responded, "Because that's where the money is." Why go after 12% of the market when you can go after 85%? In April 2012 Kaspersky noted that Mac’s platform was a decade behind Microsoft’s when it came to computer security. Link for article. Again the lower market share is why Macs are not as prone to viruses. Apple is known for their exceptional customer service. Their Genius Bar provides free technical support in person. Apple also offers free training as well again in person. I also suggest if you are buying a Mac you purchase an Apple Care plan. It is an extended warranty plan for both your computer and questions you have related to using it. The costs to repair a Mac are higher than repairing a PC. The gap has greatly lessened for these two factors but the availability of software programs for PCs is greater than for Macs. On the other side, Macs are easier to use as well as quicker to start up and shut down. That said, Windows has greatly narrowed the gap here and will be coming out with their new operating system Windows8 in October. Apple last updated their operating system in late July of this year.
In determining whether a Mac or PC is for you these are some of the factors to consider. Every situation is different so I cannot give a one size fits all answer. If you have additional questions about whether a Mac or PC would work better for you, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com
My Facebook page http://on.fb.me/MikesCCNY provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your computer and smartphone. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity. Our web services are provided worldwide.
Every year, 43% of computer users lose their music, photos, documents, and more. – PC World 2010. A March 2012 article in Gigaom noted that 60% of 640 small and medium businesses surveyed have not even budgeted for backups. Only 15% of those surveyed have an automated backup plan in place. These numbers are even worse for consumers where 29% have never backed up their computers per Backblaze.com. I find this to be very disturbing. In the event of a hard drive failure, these people could lose things such as pictures of loved ones, letters, notes, spreadsheets, memories, etc. that are not stored anywhere else and are at risk. Businesses not backing up are in danger of losing important information for their business such as financial records, important correspondence, etc.
Backing up is a cheap insurance policy against data loss. It does not take long (backing up data to a DVD takes less than ½ an hour) and to purchase a 10 pack of rewritable DVDs at Staples costs under $18 on their website. To recover data on your hard drive from a data recovery service will run about $500 minimum up to a few thousand. Recovery is not guaranteed however. One service also prices out by emergency service which is 24 hours; priority service which is 3 days; and standard service which is 2 weeks turnaround time. You want 24 hour turnaround and you will pay for that level of service. Many who have a computer for personal use will find using a DVD to back up your files adequate.
On a personal note, when I have had to reinstall data from my backup, I was up and running with the essential files and programs within about 4-5 hours. I can be surf the internet in a lot less time. Note that you should have your program disks in a safe place. The cost, not in the hundreds or thousands of dollars but less than $100 which was the cost of my external hard drive.
My question to you then is what scenario would you rather have when your data is lost? Personally I prefer my inexpensive insurance policy so to speak of backing up my data should I ever need it. Several years ago in about a 3 week span, 2 friends of mine lost data on their computer. One was due to a flood in their office and the other was due to a hard drive crash. They did not have backups. Confidential client data and irreplaceable family pictures were lost. Had my friends backed up their computer, any loss would have been minimal. If you think this could never happen to you, think again. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Further, I also have copies of backups away from my home. Should the unforeseen happen, I still can get my data. Hopefully that scenario will never happen but if it does, I am prepared.
You can use different media to back up your data. A USB drive (although I do not recommend that you use this method), DVD drive, external hard drive, online backup service. Prices will vary of course. If you are using an online service, some also offer a free version. These versions are not as good as the paid versions. A free service may meet your needs so do keep that in mind. If you choose a paid service, Carbonite offers a plan with unlimited space for as low as $59 per year per computer. For those that need to back up more than 1 computer, they also offer other plans. I have only heard good things about them.
In the end the choice is yours. Before deciding that you will not back up your data, think about what would happen if you don’t and you have a hard drive crash, a virus that destroys your data or some other mishap.
If you have additional questions about backing up your computer(s) please call me at (917) 572-3468. I can determine the backup plan that is best for you. Think of it the same way you think of auto insurance, homeowners insurance or any other type of insurance. You hope you do not have to use it but should you ever have to use it you are glad you have it. I also can back up your files for you so that in the event of a hard drive failure you will have files as of the date of backup.
Except for customized Excel spreadsheets which are provided in the USA and Canada, Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity.
Recently I read a blog post on Bayside Patchwhere the writer mentioned that many of us have become addicted to the online world. There were some very valid points that the author brought up. That said there are also ways that being online has given us free time as opposed to taking away time.We have become an information society where information is both available and demanded quicker. The killing of Osama Bin Laden and the death of Whitney Houston broke on Twitter before anywhere else. It used to be if you needed to do research you went to the library. Now you can do your research online. I can remember having to wait for the news to get weather and sports or dialing 976-1212 or 976-1313 which if I remember was a local call for charging purposes and the information I was looking for could be at the end. Today you can set alerts on your smartphone for the weather as well as the score of your favorite teams. If we are not, we all should be lifelong learners. Google “opencourseware” and see all the free college courses available online. YouTube is a good source of educational videos as well.It used to be that unless you ordered from mail order catalogues you had to spend time getting in your car and going to the store to buy what you were looking for. In this day of $4 a gallon gas, you can order going online any hour of the day from your home. You’re saving gas and driving time plus a lot of times the price is less than when you go to a store.Banking online is also a growing trend. You can pay your bills online automatically saving the time of writing a check to the same payee every month for the same amount. Paying bills online is faster and less expensive (think stamps). You no longer have to write the same checks every month.Text messaging has become a big thing with the younger generation. My sons do not want me leaving voice mail messages. They want me to leave text messages instead. Texts are quicker to read then listening to a voicemail. Grandparents have gotten on Facebook partially because that is how they find out what their grandchildren are up to. Our phone books and calendars are online. The list goes on.Being online can be a saver of time and money from the standpoint of business travel. There is less of a need to travel for business meetings in many cases. Meetings can be done via Skype, Google+ hangouts or another online medium. Time and money spent travelling are saved because these meetings can occur online. This can give some businesspeople more family time.Newspapers have fallen victim to the online world. The New Orleans Times Picayune will start publishing 3 days a week and will no longer be a daily paper. The news is more current online then the published version. Declining newspaper circulations are also saving trees as less paper is needed to reach the declining circulation.I mentioned Skype earlier. If you are unfamiliar with Skype, it enables you to have a video conference with another Skype user anytime, anywhere without a time limit for free. Not only does it have business uses but people are using it to keep in touch with out of town friends and family. It is touching to see grandparents talk about and seeing them have a conversation on Skype with their out of town grandchildren. I know of a family who lives in New York who did a Passover Seder with family in Australia using Skype. The telephone company used to say, “Long distance: the next best thing to being there.” In today’s word, Skype may be the next best thing to being there.While our online activity can be a distraction, it also can save time as well. Yes we have become addicted to the online world but so much is going on in today’s world that occurs there. I think we all have seen people together in a public place keeping busy on their phone rather than interacting. Is it necessary? Personally I can remember growing up playing in the park and playgrounds with friends and enjoying being outdoors. I am concerned when instead of enjoying our parks and playgrounds, young people are indoors playing games on their Wii, Xbox or another video game console. For those who feel the need to check their email or texts while connecting during dinner maybe a compromise is in order. Perhaps check to see if the call, message or email is something of a truly urgent nature. If not, it can wait. If it truly is urgent and by this I mean an emergency then yes take the call, answer the text or whatever. Otherwise use the time to connect with friends and loved ones. If you are interested in learning how to better use your technology and save some time of your own call me at (917) 572-3468.Computer Concierge NY LLC, provides expert computer and technology services in the Bayside, NY area, Including Queens, Albertson, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellrose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park, Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park, New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside vicinity. HRBHGV7C4DRDTweet
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