Personal Perspectives from Times-News Blogs

Chief Editor Ted Como brings you the latest tech advice on Tech Bytes
Chief Editor Ted Como brings you the latest tech advice on Tech Bytes

  • Windows 7 tips...

    Published Friday, October 21 2011
    With Windows7 now eclipsing XP as the main Windows operating system, herewith some tips that aren't found in the operating manual - not that there ...

  • Here comes Verizon 4G

    Published Tuesday, September 6 2011
    Verizon turns on its supercharged 4G network in the Tri-Cities Sept. 15, offering blazing data speeds for your 4G smartphone, tablet PC, mobile hot...

  • Netflix comes up short

    Published Monday, August 8 2011
    Just as Netflix is hemorrhaging customers due to rate increases, here comes Wal-Mart to scoop them up. I dropped my trial Netflix subscription ...

  • Google+ has edge on Facebook

    Published Monday, July 25 2011
    Two weeks ago I reviewed alternative social networking sites Tumblr and Intersect and just last week, yet another came online with some high-powere...

  • We need online U.S. history lessons

    Published Tuesday, July 5 2011
    That American children know diddle-e-squat about their nation's history shows, anew, the pathetic state of U.S. secondary education. But parents sh...

  • New state law criminalizes victims

    Published Monday, June 20 2011
    We think of folks whose bank accounts are cleaned out by someone who gains access to their login information as victims. Soon, they're criminals if...

  • Upgrading to 4G

    Published Thursday, May 12 2011
    "We don't have 4G here [in the Tri-Cities] so why should I buy an expensive 4G phone," the reader asked. Because just a few months into your-tw...

  • Free Blackberry/Android apps

    Published Friday, April 15 2011
    Most like looking at celestial objects and to that end I went looking for an astronomy app - not finding a good one - for my Blackberry Storm. It r...

  • Upgrade to IE9

    Published Monday, April 4 2011
    Whatever was ailing Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate - which crashed my two test systems several weeks ago - has been fixed for the ...

  • Technology myths...

    Published Monday, March 28 2011
    Thanks to the Internet's instant access to all manner of unsupported information, the gullible have plenty to keep them occupied. Numerous conversa...

  • Fence in those icons

    Published Monday, March 7 2011
    It is a rare thing to see a computer desktop with only a few icons. Most are littered with them - I have seen desktops completely covered with ico...

  • Gadgets galore for W7, Vista

    Published Friday, January 28 2011
    Gadgets - programs that sit on your desktop - were introduced with Windows Vista and there are now more than 5,000 available free for your Vista or...

  • Restoring a Toshiba laptop

    Published Tuesday, January 18 2011
    The user manual for a Toshiba laptop I purchased two years ago had nothing to say about what to do if your operating system failed, despite that yo...

  • Ereaders: I like the Nook 3G

    Published Wednesday, December 29 2010
    Downloadable, digital books outsold hardcovers at Amazon for the first time this year and there's no going back. Ereaders - devices that display...

  • Stop paying for anti-virus software

    Published Thursday, December 2 2010
    Microsoft Security Essentials was released one year ago and if you're among those who continue to make annual payments for commercial antivirus sof...

  • The Google OS

    Published Thursday, November 11 2010
    Next year, your new desktop PC may be a large, thin display with keyboard and mouse - that's it. There will be no big, square box connected to it a...

  • Google TV out soon

    Published Friday, October 15 2010
    There you sit at your computer, downloading movies, watching YouTube videos, looking at family photos, updating your Facebook page and surfing t...

  • About Google Scribe

    Published Monday, October 4 2010
    Enroute to becomming the "third half of your brain" as Google says it would like to be, the software giant has released Google Scribe, wherein it...

  • Meet online with Skype

    Published Monday, September 20 2010
    In tough times, holding a family reunion can be expensive beyond everyone's means. Thanks to a beta version of communications software from Skype L...

  • The HDMI cable ripoff

    Published Tuesday, September 7 2010
    The past two weeks we've talked about that expensive holiday flat-screen TV purchase but there's one more piece of equipment you'll need, and it...

  • Buying a new TV - Part 2

    Published Monday, August 30 2010
    Last week I reviewed what you should know about high definition televisions but most relevant to that purchase decision is where your new TV will...

  • Buying a new TV

    Published Friday, August 20 2010
    Every year about November I take a look at what's new in the world of digital television and every year, some ask why I didn't do that before th...

  • Compare local hospitals

    Published Monday, August 9 2010
    Most of us routinely use our local hospital for non-emergency services either for convenience, or because our medical insurance so confines us. B...

  • Social networking takes off

    Published Tuesday, June 8 2010
    We use the Internet for many things but connecting in various ways with others - so-called Social Networking - has become the primary online act...

  • Running XP on W7 Home Basic

    Published Friday, May 14 2010
    I purchased the professional version of Windows 7 for my primary home desktop because I wanted to experiment with running Windows XP in what's call...

Follow Times-News



Times-News Online on Facebook