Tech Support Help Desk

If It Is Geeky - You’ll Find It Here!

October 17th, 2007

A Portable Scanner?

Have you ever found yourself looking for a place to scan a document when you were not at home? Trying to get an electronic copy of a document, but no scanner could be found? Well, this is one scanner you have to see to believe! It’s called the ScanShell 3000DN, and it’s a portable scanner. Yes, you heard me right, it’s a truly portable scanner! But you haven’t heard the best part yet … ever heard of a Duplex scanner ? Well, this baby has it … it will scan BOTH sides of your document at the same time and store it internally in PDF format. Talk about a sweet piece of equipment!

So what’s the catch? External power required, right? Wrong! It’s a standard USB 2.0 interface for downloading your scanned PDF files, it doesn’t require any external power sources, and best of all … it’s Windows Vista compatible (excluding the 64-bit versions). Another nice feature is the bundled software that comes with it. It’s called DocShell, and provides for easy scanning, sharing and organizing of photos and documents. DocShell is easy to use, and can export scanned documents into existing, pre-installed application on the user’s pc (PDF,Microsoft paint etc.). The scanned document can be saved to one of the following image types: BMP, JPG, TIF, PSD, PCX, PNG or TGA.

So if you’re in an industry (sales, tech support, etc.) where you handle paperwork on the road … don’t be caught in a bind again! Get one of these beauties and never be left without an electronic copy of your documents!

October 11th, 2007

The Best Cell Phone Plan In Town

Ever wonder if you’re getting ripped off by your mobile phone company? Looking at the bill, it always seems to be higher than what you figured it should be? Perhaps your rates have gone up, and you’re just not prepared to do the comparison shopping to make sure the rates are still good?

Well, look no further for help. Wirefly has an awesome service that will help you determine the best cell phone plan for you. This handy calculator uses information about how many minutes you use per month, what provider you’re with, and how much you’re currently paying. You will also need to specify anytime minutes vs. night/weekend minutes and roaming percentage as well. Add in your zip code and viola! - out comes the comparisons for you.

Now, I don’t have a “regular” phone service - I use Tracfone. However, I thought I would give the calculator a shot anyway. I estimated that I use about 300 minutes a month (when I’m out on service calls). That would cost me about $30. These are basically anytime minutes, but about 1/3 are roaming,so that adds up to another $10 extra per month. I’m looking at about $40 a month for my services.

So, after putting in all of my information into Wirefly’s calculator, what did I find out? Well, I discovered that T-Mobile has a plan with 300 anytime minutes and unlimited nights / weekends for only $30 a month. Now realize that if my usage was much less, say 100 - 150 minutes a month, then a pay-as-you-go service like Tracfone would be ideal. However, since I’m over the threshold of regular rate plans, it appears that I can save roughly $120 a year using Wirefly’s recommended service.

The calculator also presents about a half dozen other profider options as well. In addition, each provider plan is rated based on market coverage, and JD Power rankings for cost & service and customer care. So if you’re in the market for a new phone plan, or you just want to make sure you’re getting the best deal in town, you need to check out this handy calculator from Wirefly!

October 8th, 2007

Cables Anyone?

Have you ever been out on a service call (or over at your mother-in-laws for all you d-i-y people out there) and come up short on a cable or USB adapter? It’s a real pain in the rear when you’re on site and you don’t have the equipment you need.

That’s why it’s better to stay stocked up. Simply put: you can never have enough of some things around. Computer cables, adapters, and wall plates are just a few of those things.

So today I bring you TCA-Inc., a company that has a ton of stuff to choose from when stocking your geek supply cabinet. You don’t want to miss out on some of these deals. One of the things that caught my eye was one I had not seen before: the flex USB Adapter. Now that looks like a handy little jewel!

They have a variety of categories to choose from: everything from fiber optics, firewire, iPod accessories, SCSI cables, etc. You name it, they probably have it. Their website is easy to navigate, and things are categorized in a user-friendly fashion. Combine that with the confidence that they have the store hosted as a Yahoo! store, and you’re set for a secure online shopping experience. Quality looks good, and the prices look even better. Don’t miss out … check it out today!

October 8th, 2007

Burn Your Own CDs?

Do you burn your own CDs? Are you in a garage band, or maybe you use your CD burner to distribute free copies of Linux or some other open-source software? If you are into CD duplication or burning DVDs, I’ve got a great resource for you to check out.

Supermediastore.com has been in business since 2002 and has become a major player in the wholesale market of blank CD and DVD media products. Hailing from southern California, they supply a large variety of blank media, packaging, hardware … even memory, ink, and toner! This helps those of you who are interested in printing custom disc labels as well.

September 24th, 2007

New Coupon Site

If you are anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to save money. This is especially true with online purchase, since you have to pay shipping fees. There are a lot of different place to find coupons online, but there’s a new site that looks very promising. The new site is CouponKathy.com, and the picture on the home page says it all: “Let me help you save money”.

There are quite a few categories that should appeal to the “techies” out there. Available right now she has coupon codes for Franklin Covey, GoDaddy, and Sharper Image. They even have Oriental Trading Coupon Codes. If you are involved in promotional widgets or goodie bags for kids, hand-outs, etc. - then you must check out Oriental Trading!

The process is pretty simple. Find the category you are interested in, click on the category to view the coupons. For example, I like Sharper Image. She currently has four coupon codes available as well as a banner ad. Three of the ads are for 50% off specific purchases, and the other ad is for various amounts from $10 to $100 off, depending on the amount of your purchase. These are excellent! Simply click on the ad to use the coupon and order. So next time you are shopping online and looking for that coupon code, stop by Coupon Kathy and check it out!

September 24th, 2007

Dell - A Review

Whether you’re looking for laptops or desktops, Dell offers a wide selection of computers for your needs. In fact, I recently helped a friend with her purchase of a Dell laptop. You can go online and configure your personal setup in accordance with what you will be using the computer system for. This will give you a quote which you can then use for a certain amount of time when you call in to order your desktop system.

The only issue we had with the Dell system she purchased was an issue with the DVD driver. For some reason, the initial install of the device driver was corrupted, and the performance appeared choppy with the sound out of sync. After maximizing performance and disabling all the fancy visual features on Vista to free up system memory, I finally gave in and called tech support. After holding for almost 45 minutes (and this was late at night , CST), I finally got someone who was able to help me troubleshoot and re-install the driver. After this, no more DVD issues!

September 17th, 2007

Small Business Loans the EZ Way

Getting a small business loan is often intimidating to business owners. Because of restrictions from the regular channels like banks and other financial institutions, the small business owner often doesn’t give it a second thought. Well, EZUnsecured.com is out to change that.

I know that before I shut down my local PC repair business, opening up a brick and mortar shop would have been nice, but it wasn’t practical because I didn’t have the funds. With a program like EZUnsecured.com has, it would have been a lot easier to apply. They only work on unsecured financing, but they do require a business to be in business for a minimum of two years.

If you’ve been looking for a way to keep your business going or to buy that equipment you’ve needed, consider checking out EZUnsecured.com. They just might be able to hook you up!

September 17th, 2007

Do You Google?

Many people (myself included) are finding that Google’s online applications are more and more a part of our everyday lives.  Finding entry into our lives initially through Gmail (Google’s version of free web mail service), I am now sucked in to the Google Toolbar in Firefox, Google Calendars, Google Documents (with great file sharing and collaboration features!), and even use Google’s Hot Trends (currently in their “lab” section) to look into Internet search patterns for marketing trends.

As far as replacing Microsoft Office anytime soon, I don’t think it will happen.  But for someone looking for a good set of services that they can access from anywhere, share important info with others,  it’s a great set of tools.  But don’t take my word for it .. check it out for yourself!

September 14th, 2007

Need Christmas Coupons?

It’s already that time of the year again, and if you go to any brick and mortar store, you already see it creeping in! It’s time to start thinking about holiday shopping, and how you’re going to pay for it all. Have you ever considered using coupons to help you save through the holiday season?

Well, now it’s easy to save with coupon codes from CouponChief.com. With coupon codes available for stores like Best Buy, Dell Home and HP Home Store, it’s easy to see techies like you and me being able to really stock up on some nice gifts for this year! In fact, one of the featured coupons today is for 20% off of a customized HP Pavilion notebook of $899 or more (that’s a minimum savings of $179)!!! That offer shows to be good through Saturday, September 22nd. So what are you waiting for?

September 1st, 2007

352 Media Does More Than Web Dev

If you’re looking for someone to do website development, you can find that just about anywhere. If you’re looking for someone who does good website development, plus a whole lot more, then take a look at 352 Media. This Seattle web development company’s top local client is Microsoft. (Yes, you read that right!)

Over the past four years they have designed over 50 websites, CD’s, DVD’s, and online advertisements as well as several print ads and marketing hand-outs. They are the winners of 44 Addy Awards for professional web design. They have production offices and sales offices in various locations around the country.