Riding Shotgun with Rick

Google News Alerts

Rick — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:37:33 -0500

Would you like to get targeted news/web searches delivered to your email? Google Alerts can do that for you. Google Alerts allow you to get automated, customized news and web searches delivered to your email daily, weekly, or as breaking news alerts based on the criteria you provide. The service can be used without a Google account, but if you start using the service more, and you will, having an account will allow you to manage and tweak your alerts easier. If you already use Google for a customized home page, email, Picasa account, Blogger account, or any of the other Google services, you can use that same account information to use and manage Google Alerts.

In order to really grasp how beneficial Google Alerts can be, you need to try it out for yourself. There are no limits to how many alerts you can create. Here's how:

Click here to visit the Google Alerts page
Type a search term or terms in the first box. Remember to spell your terms correctly and describe your search completely so your alerts are more accurate
In the Type box, click and choose whether you want to get alert items from news stories only, blogs, videos, web in general (non-news), discussion groups, or comprehensive (which covers it all).
Choose how often you want the emails in the third box. Your choices are daily, weekly, or as the news happens.
Lastly, fill in your email and click the Create Alert button

Within a few hours, you will start to receive your email alerts. The email will be from Google Alerts with the subject Google Alert - Your Search Terms. The email will contain a list of the matches it found with the link to the story and where it is from and the first two lines of the story itself. You can delete or edit an alert at any time by going back to the Google Alerts web page and clicking the Manage your alerts link.

My pick for the best technology currently available

Rick — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:11:25 -0500

Editors note: Of course, I'm going to exempt smartphones (my current favorite is the iPhone 3G) because these are necessary to 21st century living.

Next to the smartphone, my vote for best technology currently available is the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). A DVR replaces the venerable VHS recorder for recording television programming. DVR's use hard drives to record the programming digitally and require about a tenth of the knowledge necessary to program a VCR. The hard drives can record from 40 HD hours to almost 200 hours of programming. With DVR's, there is never a tape to change or rewind, and the quality of the recording is flawless no matter how many times you watch it.

Another plus with DVR's is their advanced fast forward feature. All DVR's have a skip button on the remote that skips 30-60 seconds in one push. Does that time period sound familiar? Yes, it's the length of a commercial. When watching a sitcom, most commercial breaks last about 3 to 4 minutes...a few quick presses of the DVR's skip button and you are watching the next segment. A 30 minute program can be finished in about 19 minutes...I'll take 11 minutes wherever I can get them. And a one hour crime drama can be over in about 40 minutes!

Sorry Oprah and Dr. Phil fans, daytime talk shows cannot be recorded with a DVR.*

Right now my family is recording nearly 18 hours of Olympic programming every day, but we can watch all that in about 4 hours or so by using the variable speed of the DVR's fast forward feature. Very helpful to skip through boring soccer matches or 50 KM race walking at 300X speed. But because the recordings are digital, you can actually keep track of the action and

When is high speed cellular Internet access a good deal?

Rick — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:08:44 -0500

Not everyone can get a cable or DSL Internet connection in their home...especially in rural areas. Cellular service, though, reaches pretty far these days. And in the past few years all three major cellular providers in the United States have rolled out broadband Internet via cellular signals. New technology developments allow users to easily use USB mobile broadband adapters (the little gadgets that pick up the wireless signals) with a desktop just as easily as a laptop.All three big providers offer plans starting at $60 per month for 5GB of data transfer.

5 GB of Internet data translates into about double or triple what the average daily emailer and web surfer would need in a typical month.

Speeds for mobile (cellular) broadband compare favorably with

Rick's Answers his email Videocast - 009

Rick — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:59:50 -0500

Today is the "silhouette edition" of my new series. You will see why immediately as you start watching...however, don't let that deter you from some great Q&A! In today's episode I answer questions from Zilla May, Beverly, Roger, Tami, Tom, Terry, Greg, Sandy, Jon, and a few others about topics ranging from printing recipes to choosing a MIL laptop.

Create a Permanent Email Address for Yourself

Rick — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:50:51 -0500

Are you tired of having to change your email address when your Internet provider goes out of business or gets gobbled up by another provider, or you move, or you just want to change Internet providers?

Informing everyone in your address book that you have changed email addresses doesn't take a great deal of time, but it is annoying nonetheless. In today's Shotgun article, I explain how you can create an address that is permanently yours regardless of who you use for an Internet provider.

AVG .bin error

Rick — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:11:24 -0500

Sunday morning update 8/17/08: Grisosft has already corrected the .bin problem and the panic is over. You can RIGHT click your AVG icon by your clock and click Check for Updates, then update on the screen that appears and all will be well again. This was a perfect example demonstrating that when something goes awry with your computer, the best thing to do is to remain calm and patient. The problem will get resolved automatically much of the time. If you start monkeying around with settings and changing and reinstalling programs, the problem will only get worse.

Dell goes deeper into Linux

Rick — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:48:06 -0500

Dell announced that they will release a line of laptop computers this fall with an instant on technology called Latitude On. Early indications are that it will closely mimic the Splashtop technology I wrote about last year and during CES 2008. And like Splashtop, the Dell technology involves using a light version of Linux to produce an extremely fast boot up (30 seconds or less) time and can access the Internet through Firefox and a wireless signal.

5 Steps to Using Online Financial Sites Safely

Rick — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:48:29 -0500

Every year computer users using the Internet to check account balances, transactions, and even paying bills grows by nearly 30%. According to one Pew study, more than 50 million Americans use online banking services. 50 million sounds like a large number, but that still reflects less than 50% of online American adults. Bank web sites continue to evolve by becoming easier to use, more secure, and more helpful than ever before. In fact, many banks rather that their customers check their web site for answers rather than call or visit a branch. However, many people shy away from online banking because of security fears.

I’m going to outline, for you, five simple steps that you can take to keep yourself and your finances safe on the Internet.

Rick's Answers his email Videocast - 008

Rick — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:06:10 -0500

Lot's of great questions today ranging from Cameroon pet scams to Ubuntu to recycling old computers and much more. I think I packed 10 or 12 questions in this week's edition of the email video answers. Have a look and listen!

Beijing Olympic Coverage on the web

Rick — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 23:51:55 -0500

My name is Rick, and I am addicted to watching the Olympics. Since 1976 with Bruce Jenner, I look forward to the Olympic games. My favorite events to watch include weightlifting, swimming, gymnastics (although I abhor the subjective judging), rowing, and bicycling (track and road).

However, being a working stiff and having family obligations means and with the Olympics being held half a world away, I need to find a way to catch some coverage in other ways beside my DVR.

The web is starting to feel that gap, but only if you have a super fast Internet connection. NBC is offering nearly 2000 hours of coverage on their web site, but most of it is raw video and little audio with no commentary. I have the medium speed DSL (1.5mbs) at my home and it can barely keep up with the video stream...especially if my kids are watching YouTube or streaming Pandora at the same time.

If you have a cable or fiber Internet connection, you should have no problems watching the Olympics online via NBC's site. You can also try watching some video at the official Beijing Olympic web site or the China Central Television web site. Interestingly, because of contractual and legal problems, YouTube cannot show their Olympic coverage in the United States. Hve you found any other reliable sites for streaming video from Beijing?