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Some Information You May Find Useful
There are two areas here you may find useful. One is suggestions for how you may
save some money buying computer equipment and supplies, and the other are
frequently asked questions and those things I think most users should be aware
of.
Cost Saving Tips
Frequently
Asked Questions
Cost Saving Tips
I admit it, I'm a penny
pincher. If I can find a way to save money on supplies, software, or equipment
for my computers I will. I hope you find the following useful. Thank
you...
Save Hundreds of Dollars on Printer Cartridges
This may
or may not be something you wish to experiment with, but
if you do it will be well worth the effort. Unless
absolutely necessary, do not buy new printer cartridges
when you run out. Currently, the price of cartridges at
the store is somewhere between $25 to $35 each. A
typical ink jet printer requires two of these, both a
black and a color cartridge. If you have to buy 4
replacements per year, you will spend somewhere between
$200 to $280. The alternative is to buy refill kits. The
last ones I purchased on e-Bay cost me $1.98 plus $3.00
shipping. Each one good for four refills. In other
words, instead of approximately $250 in cartridges, I
paid $10,
a savings of $240 in one
year.
Note:
With the
new stands that come with the refill kits, it's very
easy to refill them and only take about 5 minutes.
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Don't Buy Software Retail = Shop the Internet
The link
below is what CompUSA charges for Windows XP
Professional Upgrade Version.
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?ref=msn&pfp=cat3&product_code=314679
The next
link is the cost of the exact same software found via
NexTag.com.
https://www.pronetcd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=E8500447
The only
difference between the two pieces of software is that
one is a retail version and the other is an OEM version.
Exact same CD, fully licensed, perfectly legal, its just
how the sale is recorded at Microsoft.
One comes in at
$199 and the other is $139.
There are
two sites I search for discounted hardware and software.
One is
http://NexTag.com and
the other is
http://Shopping.com.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Computer Hardware Questions
How Do I Backup My Data?
In the
past, backing up your data involved using tons of
diskettes, dealing with the limited capacity of Zip
drives and CD-RW's, or purchasing an expensive tape
backup device.
Zip
Drives and CD-RW's still have their place and will still
work in a pinch, but do you know where on your hard
drive all your important data is? You might say under
"My Documents", but a lot of software stores their data
and its settings under their own folders.
The
safest solution is to do a full system backup and then
at least weekly and preferably daily, do a
"differential" or "incremental" backup. These are backups
that backup data changed since the last full backup.
So how
are you going to do this. The cheapest and quickest way
is by using an external hard drive. The cost of these
have come down to the 60 to 100 dollar range. I assure
you, you would spend a lot more than this if you happen
to lose your entire accounting file.
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Swapping Parts?
I am
going to straddle the line between talking in techno-babble and talking in a
language you can understand, so here goes. Here is a very simple list of some of
the components in your computer, most you will be able to understand and relate
to:
Outside the computer:
 Computer
Monitor: That big thing
you stare at 10 hours a day.
Printer:
You should know what this is.
Inside the computer:
The
Hard Drive: This is a
device that all your data and programs are held.
Memory:
When you click on a icon on the computer screen, the
program is read from the hard drive into memory so it
will run faster.
CD/ROM
Drive(s): This is the
device you put your CD's into.
Network
Card: This is where you
plug the cable into to get to your high-speed internet.
Modem:
This is where you plug the phone cable into to get to
your dial-up internet connection.
Mother
Board: We won't discuss
this only to say that the "brains" of the computer is
located here.
OK, so why do I mention
these? Say for instance you are buying a new computer
but your old computer already has a CD/ROM drive that
can burn CD's and your new one doesn't. You can simply
take the CD/ROM drive out of the old computer and put in
the new one and it will work.
Say for instance your
office has 3 or 4 computers and the computer in back has
no need to burn CD's but the computer in front does. It
doesn't make any difference that they are different
brands, one drive can be moved to the other.
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Disposable Printers?
This is
a little known bit of news that has slipped under the radar of most consumers -
Have you noticed the price of printers lately?
First, let me explain the
different types of printers.
Dot
Matrix: Straight text
printer. Mostly still used for companies that require
printing of documents with multiple copies. Price range:
$70 - $500 +
DeskJet/InkJet:
This is the most common printer sold today. It does
color printing but the quality of the color prints are
not the greatest. Variations of this type of printer
will do copying, scanning, and faxing. Price range: $35
- $500 +
Photo
Printers: Extremely high
quality color printing but very slow. They also go
through ink something fierce. Price range: $60 - $1,500
+
LaserJet
Printers: Other than the
Dot Matrix printer this printer has been around the
longest. It produces high quality black and white
documents. Price range: $100 - $2,000 +
Color
LaserJet Printers:
Probably the best of the best. High quality black and
white AND color printing. The price of these has dropped
significantly but the cartridges are still expensive. If
you can afford it, this is the printer to have. Price
range: $260 - $1,000 +
Now here's my point...
Let's take the LexMark DeskJet X1200 Series as an
example. It takes two printer cartridges that cost about
$50 for the two of them at Wal-Mart, yet the printer new
is only $39 with printer cartridges installed. If you
don't refill your cartridges (I talk about this in
another article), when you run out of ink, its cheaper
to throw the printer out and buy a new one rather than
buy new printer cartridges.
I've had my LexMark X1270
for about eight months now and I like it. I paid $39 for
it and so far there have been no problems with it. This
particular printer is also a copy/scanner.
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Which Computer?
When it
comes to to replace a computer or just to buy a new one, this question always
comes up. The simple fact of the matter is that it doesn't make much difference,
with a few exceptions.
As recently as 20 years
ago when a computer vendor built a computer, all the
components inside that computer were made exclusively by
them. Now-a-days, companies like Dell, HP, Gateway, and
the like make very little if any of the parts that go
into the computers they sell. Their computers are a
combination of parts purchased from third party vendors,
and these vendors are changing constantly. The point is,
go by cost, make sure you get the equipment you need,
and be wary of the customer service the vendor supplies.
Dell and HP get the
biggest price breaks from their vendors so because of
this they usually have the cheapest computers. Dell more
so than HP because HP relies on resellers that add their
own price markups. So Dell is usually the best deal. The
only problem with Dell is that the Level One support has
been farmed out to India.
The bottom line is, if I
need a computer and can wait a few days, I'd order
through Dell. If I need something quicker, I would look
at Best Buy, CompUSA, or even Wal-Mart for a deal on a
HP computer.
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Computer Software Questions
Should I Upgrade to Vista?
Now I
have some pretty strong opinions when it comes to
Windows Vista. Technically, other than some pretty
screen and (perhaps) some added security, Windows Vista
will provide you with only very subtle enhancements over
your current operating system.
So why
did Microsoft release Windows Vista? Over the next few
years you will begin to see a change in Microsoft's
products. It is their intention to eliminate software
that comes on a CD. In the future, if you want to run
Microsoft Word or Excel, you will connect to the
internet and run it off their servers. Once a year you
will have to supply them with a credit card number to
renew your subscription or none of your applications
will work and you're dead in the water. Microsoft Vista
is the first step in that direction.
The
problem is that all new computers come with Windows
Vista. So why is this a bad thing? You just got a whale
of a deal on that computer at Circuit City. You got it
for a song at $350 plus monitor. You get your new
computer back to the office, and start to load your
current software on it.
Oops, we
have a problem here. The version of MS Office you have
is not at least Office 2003, ka-ching - another $200 to
upgrade that. You have QuickBooks 2006, ka-ching -
another $150 to upgrade to 2007. You have Quicken 2006,
ka-ching - another $50 to upgrade. You use pcAnywhere
11.0 to communicate with your computer at home, ka-ching
- another $125 to upgrade to 12.1. And this doesn't
include this like CD burning software, backup software,
and you anti-virus software.
That $350
"deal" you just got has now cost you over $1000, and for
what. To line Microsoft's pockets some time in the
future.
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Security Related Questions
What is Phishing?
Imagine
you use eBay a lot, and one day you get an e-Mail from
eBay asking you to update your account information. The
mail message appears to be from eBay. Everything looks
legitimate. So you send you credit card information,
your name, address, telephone number, and your mother's
maiden name. You certainly don't want to have them drop
your eBay account. Well, if you will excuse the French,
you just got screwed. That is what is called Phishing.
Mail messages from what appears to be legitimate vendors
asking for account information.
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Web Site/Internet Questions
Why Use Web Templates?
When
developing a web site normally, depending on the size of
the site, anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of the time
expended is developing the initial "look" for the site.
If you are on a budget, these costs will add up quickly.
A new
business has emerged on the internet. That is where
companies will develop "web templates", and sell them.
The consumer searches all the templates and locates a
template the like and their web site is built around
these.
The
advantages are first of all the cost savings when using
templates. Second is that the user gets to see their
site prior to development beginning. And finally, you
get more a more sophisticated and professional looking
site than you normally would.
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What is a Web Database?
Just a
few years back, access to a database used by your web
site was only available to those companies that could
afford to pay dearly for the service. Now, a database is
available for free on most web hosting accounts.
So what
is a database and what can it do for you? Imagine you
are a car dealership. You don't wish to sell your cars
on-line but you want prospective customers to see what
you have available. So you go out and using a digital
camera (these are as cheap as 30 or 40 dollars) you take
a picture of the car. Then you come back and enter
insert the picture along with a description, make, model
and price into a spreadsheet. Then with three or four
easy steps you upload the data in this spreadsheet to
your web site. Presto, an updated inventory of all your
cars is now on your web site.
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Web Site Hosting?
First,
let's make sure you are clear on what web site hosting
is. Three pieces are required to having and maintaining
a web site. (That is if you don't have your own web
server).
An
ISP (Internet Service Provider). This allows you to
connect to the internet.
A
web hosting service.
A
mail server.
A
domain name.
Your ISP
would like you to believe all of these are one and the
same. In doing so, they will charge you $35 a month for
your high speed connection, another $15 a month for the
web hosting service, $5 a month for your e-Mail
accounts, and $30 a year to renew your domain name.
Let's see now, that's around $690 a year you will pay
for you internet and to have a web site.
You can
not do much about the $35 a month for internet access
(Or is there?, We'll get into that latter), but you
certainly can do something about the cost incurred for
hosting a web site.
A while
back I did a major search for an alternative web hosting
company. The criteria I used was cost, reliability,
customer service (I wanted to call at3:30 in the morning
and actually talk to someone), and the viability of the
company. I chose iPower.
The basic
web hosting service supplied by iPower is about $50 per
year and that includes one e-Mail account. A slightly
more expensive package comes in at $95 per year. This
includes 2500 e-Mail accounts and free domain
registration every year. If you recommend iPower to 3
new customers per year you pay nothing for the year.
Now let's
try this on for size. Instead of $690 per year, of which
$420 a year is you high-speed internet, you only pay
$515 per year.
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Search Engines?
What good
is it to have a web site when no one knows it exists? As
importantly as the time and money spent in developing
you web, it the time spent in making sure people SEE the
site.
Most of
the larger search engines now use something called
"spiders" to search the internet and look for specific
information before you are listing with them. There are
about a dozen rules that need to be followed and
unfortunately these rules keep changing. But these are
two that stand out.
Appropriate
Titles, Descriptions, and Keywords on your site. These
are hidden underneath your site and can't be seen on the
surface of your web site.
Links
to your web site from as many pages as possible.
The
process required to do these things is not difficult but
I assure you it is necessary.
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