Going Back to School? Get your Tech Ready!March 2014Going Back to School for some is the most “wonderful time of the year”! New clothes, new apart-ment, new schedule, new friends and the best of all new technology! Well it can all seem daunt-ing and expensive to get everything new all at once – but it really doesn’t have to be, at least for technology. Here are a few tips to get you tech ready easily and affordably this back to school season!

Need a new computer? Think again. Have you con-sidered taking in your laptop for spring cleaning? Maybe upgrading your memory, updating your wireless card, getting a new hard drive, or just upgrading your operating system. It can be less expensive to upgrade your computer’s components as you have the budget, than going out and getting an entirely new computer.

You moved out of your Parents’ house and now you are on your own – what tech do you really need? Okay besides your Xbox and a computer – you should have a good Wire-less-N router. Your wireless-N router will amp up your devices with the high speed access they need for both school work and entertainment –from research to video streaming. A good router is a must for gaming online, and if you’re going to video chat with mom and dad, you don’t want annoying jerky pictures that start and stop.

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Staying secure online. The last thing you want to happen is losing your term paper to hack-ers, so checking a few things on your network could save you all semester long. First, make sure you have a network name on your router. If you have a Linksys E-Series router, you don’t need to worry about this for Linksys names your router for you. But if you have an older router – it might keep the default such as “Linksys”. Second, change your WEP/WPA password every few months. And if you want to go a little extra, connect all your devices on the network thru Mac address filtering. This will register each device to your network so the network knows that is the device you want connected. This keeps unwanted devices, such as a neighbor’s PC, from piggy backing off your wireless connection.

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You bought a new computer and now, what do you do with your old one? Well this is great for parents with kids – you get the latest and greatest computer and give your kids the “hand me down” computer. Okay, but make sure you upgrade the “hand me down” for your kids-- you don’t want them to have ancient technology and you want them equipped with the best tech to excel in the classroom, right?

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Sohl, K. (2011, August 24). Going Back to School? Get Your Tech Ready!. Cisco Blog RSS. Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://blogs.cisco.com/home/going-back-to-school-get-your-tech-ready/

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Should you Upgrade or Replace your Laptop?When you've owned your laptop for two or three years you'll find yourself wondering whether or not you should buy a new one. Although it might be time to go browse our reviews to find a replacement, don't write off that old system just yet. With a little money and a bit of technical know-how, you can grant your laptop a new lease on life, or at least buy yourself a few more months. To determine if upgrading is the right choice for you, ask yourself the following questions:

Will upgrading solve my problem? If you're simply enduring sluggish performance or you've run out of storage space, then the problem can probably be solved by either increasing your computer's RAM or replacing its hard drive. Other issues have more complicated solutions that may extend further than a basic part swap can fix.

If you've decided that upgrading is your best course of action, then the next thing to figure out is where you should start.

Battery. Over the months and years you use your laptop, its battery's capacity drops. After a couple of years, your battery life can dwindle down to under an hour, severely limiting your laptop's portability. The battery, thankfully, is the easiest part of a laptop to swap or replace, because it's usually accessible without opening the case. Switching to a new battery will return your lost longevity.

RAM. Adding RAM lets you store more, resulting in faster operating speed, particularly when working with multiple programs or in intensive applications like photo and video editors. Because RAM is inexpensive and relatively easy to install, this is one of the first upgrades you should consider.

Hard Drives & SSD’s. To expand the storage capacity of your laptop you can swap out the hard drive for a larger model or a faster SSD. For faster performance, quicker boot times, and a slightly lighter laptop, swap out your hard drive for an SSD.

Motherboard & Processor. Desktops may offer you the flexibility to replace both motherboard and processor, but laptops don't have the same space to work with, and rarely make either component easily swappable.

The Bottom Line. Unlike desktop tower PCs, which offer space and flexibility to add and swap out components, laptops are much less upgrade friendly. They're generally expected to last two or three years, and even if some new RAM, bigger or faster storage, or useful peripherals extend this window by a year or so, you'll still find yourself falling further behind the current systems on the market. To make the most of both your laptop and your budget, begin upgrades early and stick with your system for as long as it meets your needs. But once it starts falling behind, replacing the system outright is usually the simplest and most affordable way to stay up to date with the rapid pace of technology.

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Is it worth it financially to upgrade a part instead of replacing the laptop? While replacing a laptop outright can quickly ring up a tab of several hundred dollars, individual components are often much more affordable. A battery replacement may run from $20 to $50. It can cost as little as $50 to upgrade a laptop's RAM. A 500GB 2.5-inch internal hard drive costs about $60, but a 480GB solid-state drive (SSD) upgrade kit may sell for $400 or more.

Westover, B. (2013, June 21). Should you Upgrade or Replace your Laptop?. . Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://ww-w.pcmag.com/article2/0%2c2817%2c2407813%2c00.asp

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5 Microsoft Word Tips you Need to Learn RIGHT NOW.

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Protect Yourself From Cyber-Snoops, Stalkers,

and Thieves at School1. Don't Be Over-Social. Social media sites are great for sharing important events with your friends, but you need to be sure you're not over-sharing. Dig into each site's privacy settings and configure it so only your friends can see posts, photos, and so on. Think twice before posting "hilarious" selfies that might prove embarrassing when you're done with school and applying for a job. Consider, too, that posting your plans for the evening for the public at large to read might reveal your location to someone who might not have your best interests at heart

2. Use your Head. First, password-protect your user account. Otherwise anyone who steals or finds that laptop gains access to all your data. Second, Find a password manager you like, install it, and upgrade any weak passwords. That way you don’t have to use your head too much to remember all those passwords.

3. Password Protect you Network Traffic. ree Wi-Fi is a boon to all student-kind, but it's not necessarily a safe connection. A budding hacker on the same network might manage to capture your online session. By using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you can foil any attempts at data theft.

4. Install PC Protection. Right now, before you do anything else, make sure your PC has a security suite installed, or at least antivirus software. Security software can ensure that you don't take damage just because you accidentally visited a malicious website or responded to a phishing email.

5. Install Smartphone Protection. Malware on smartphones isn't as big a problem as on laptop and desktop PCs, but the best mobile security software does a lot more than keep malware out.

Of course, these tips make good sense even if you're not a student. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you don't want to suffer identity theft, or shell out big bucks to replace electronic devices. Make use of the protection that's already available to you, install security software, and use your common sense.

-Rubenking, N. (2014, July 17). Protect Yourself from Cyber-Snoops, Stalkers, and Thieves at School. . Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2421835,00.asp

Microsoft Word is so integral to our digital lives that it has successfully commandeered the actual word, "Word”. Word still stands alone as the program with which everyone—regard-less of their technological skill level—is at least somewhat familiar. Old veteran Word users like yourself probably think there's nothing left to learn. Oh, but there's always room for more knowledge!

1. Auto-Update Date & Time. Sometimes you have a document that you use again and again, but just update a few key details. If this happens to be a document like a letter that includes the date and/or time, one nifty little trick is to allow Word to update the date automatically.

Under the Insert tab, click the Date & Time button and a pop-up window will appear. Click the date format you want and then be sure to click the "update automatically" box in the bottom right corner. Now the date will automatically be updated every time you open (or print) the document. (On a Mac, Insert > Date and Time).

3. Write Text Anywhere. You can use Word as a whiteboard of sorts and easily place text anywhere on the page. Just click twice on any place on the page and Word will allow you to start typing there. Word automatically inserts hard returns and tabs to allow you to enter text.

4. Hop around Editing Hotspots. Hitting Shift-F5 will allow you to cycle through the parts of your document you've recently edited. This trick will even remember where you were editing last after you re-open a document.

5. Add a Calculator to Word. On a PC, go to File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar, switch to All Commands and click on the Calculate Command to add to the Quick Access Toolbar. After you save, you will see a non-descript gray circle at the top of your Word window. Now, if you highlight an equation in your document and click that circle, you will find an answer to your calculation at the bottom of your window. This function does not appear to be available on Mac.

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2. Highlight an entire sentence with a click. Click-ing and dragging is for the birds. Good thing you don't have to do it. If you hold down the Ctrl key and click on any word, it will highlight the entire sentence (Mac users, hold down the Command key).

Dashevsky, E. (2014, July 7). 13 Microsoft Word Tips You Need to Learn Now. PCMAG. Retrieved August 1, 2014, from http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/325207/13-micro-soft-word-tips-you-need-to-learn-now/

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Fast Facts

1. 73% of children ages 3 to 6 are enrolled in school.2. 15% of all college students are 35 years or older.3. 42% of 18 to 24 year olds enrolled in college in 2011.4. 20% of students enrolled in college worked full-time.5. 12 Million people aged 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree in business in 2011.6. 14% of people aged 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree in education in 2011.7. The average earnings of a full-time, year-round worker with an advanced degree was $81,761 in 2011.

Thanks to the United States Census Bureau for these facts!