What is an Android????

According to Wikipedia, "Android is a Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touch screen mobile devices such as Smartphone's and tablet computers. Initially developed by Android, Inc., which Google backed financially and later purchased in 2005, Android was unveiled in 2007 along with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance: a consortium of hardware, software, and telecommunication companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. The first Android-powered phone was sold in October 2008.

Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java programming language. In October 2012, there were approximately 700,000 apps available for Android, and the estimated number of applications downloaded from Google Play, Android's primary app store, was 25 billion.

These factors have allowed Android to become the world's most widely used smartphone platform and the software of choice for technology companies who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high tech devices without developing one from scratch. As a result, despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications on televisions, games consoles and other electronics. Android's open nature has further encouraged a large community of developers and enthusiasts to use the open source code as a foundation for community-driven projects, which add new features for advanced users or bring Android to devices which were officially released running other operating systems."

Smartphones – 3G, 4G, Data Plans, Wi-Fi And More…

Recently in our classes (back east) we’ve been discussing “Smartphones” and these are a few of the questions that were raised which might be of interest to you... 

What does the G mean in Cell phones – 3G, 4G etc?  That’s easy, the “G” stands for the “Generation” for cell phone technology…with new generations coming out about every ten (10) years – the technologies were introduced as follows but usually were marketed by cellphone companies a year or two after introduction…

·         1G was introduced in 1981 (analog)

·         2G was first transmitted in 1992 (digital)

·         3G which offers multi-media support came out in 200, but came to the US in 2003

·         4G introduced in 2010 but widely used by cell phone carriers now in 2012

If you live in an area that doesn't have 4G coverage, there's no advantage to a 4G phone. In fact, you'll have serious battery life problems if you buy an LTE phone and don't disable 4G LTE, as the radio's search for a non-existent signal will drain your battery quickly…  Before you buy any cellphone “smartphone or not” be sure to check the coverage offered by the different carriers…one of the most important considerations before you decide who to go with, so you know you’ll be able to send/receive calls where you normally live, work or visit..

What does all this “data” stuff mean on a cell phone?  Most activities on “smartphones” will consume data – the exceptions are making a phone call and sending a text messages.  Remember, voice and texts require a very small amount of bandwidth, as opposed to data, which requires carriers to continuously build up their networks to support exploding demand from smartphones and tablets..

That is why activities, such as browsing the web, reading and sending e-mails, browsing Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or sharing photos, downloading applications, downloading music, listening to online radio and watching videos on YouTube, viewing maps, instant messaging applications such as Skype, BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Talk and Facebook Messenger – all of these activities use up data and quickly…

Many phones consume data in the background even when you’re not using it – maybe you have the weather widget on your homescreen, so periodically it’s downloading the latest forecast from the internet or your email app, might be checking for new messages..  it all adds up.

What if I use the Wi-Fi with my phone?  Good news-Any data transferred over a wi-fi network will not count towards your download limit.  Data transferred over a wi-fi network does not pass through your mobile operator and so it won’t be counted towards your monthly download limit. So it’s best to use a wi-fi network for all of your bandwidth-intensive activities such as listening to online radio, making calls over Skype and watching online video. But be sure you know if you have a separate download limit with your home broadband connection.  You can set your smartphone to find available Wi-Fi networks for you…

What about the data plans that say they are unlimited?  According to some experts, “Paying for an “unlimited data plan” (even if your carrier offers this, which many don’t anymore) doesn’t mean you get unlimited access to your carrier’s bandwidth. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless “slow down or what is called throttling” data users after they reach a predetermined limit. Sprint is the lone hold-out, but rumors point to the possibility that the carrier will begin to throttle data on its Virgin sub-carrier plans. The justification for this process involves regulate network traffic and minimize bandwidth congestion. And with the rise in 4G data usage, carriers claim their networks are jammed, so what this means to all of us – the consumers – is that we may not get to take advantage of all the speed promised by our new 4G smartphone” quoted from PC Net Magazine – Feb 2012

No doubt, all of this will continue to change – so keep your questions coming and we will help you find the answers – remember there are no foolish questions – all of the technology today is changing so rapidly that it’s a challenge for all of us to keep up with what’s happening, never mind understanding all the ins and outs entirely…  It’s simply a constant learning experience..

Error Message: Windows-No Disk

Question: I am getting a error message a lot lately: “WINDOWS-NO DISK” pops up on the monitor and it makes no difference what I’m working on or have open and it happens several times a day…

Answer: Tech support forums and sites (including Microsoft) indicate that this is common (more so with Windows XP & Vista) than Windows 7. THe following is the solution, copied directly from Microsoft’s website at the following link:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/windows-no-disk-exception-processing-message/b1a67525-d5e8-46ae-9801-6b169547e656

"The answer lies in the words "Windows: No Disk", your PC is looking for a USB device - e.g. a USB stick or a cell phone - that you've recently plugged in and have removed without using the "remove hardware safely" option in the right hand bottom corner of your screen. Put the last USB device you used back into the USB port and then use the "remove software safely" option.

The pop up message will disappear."

In my case, I didn't have to plug the USB device in, I just needed to click on the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray, and tell it to remove the device that is no longer plugged in.

Safelink - A free cell phone for seniors

You may want to check out “SAFELINK” wireless which is offered to seniors for free – many of our students have taken advantage of this program, so check it out… It is a very basic phone, but wonderful to have in an emergency…

This is the link to their website…

http://www.safelinkwireless.com/

This is the initial introduction made on their webpage – so once again, check it out…

SAFELINK WIRELESS® service is U.S. government supported program for Income eligible households provided by TracFone Wireless, Inc. In order to participate in the SAFELINK WIRELESS® service, persons must meet certain eligibility requirements set by each State where the service is to be provided. These requirements are based on a person’s participation in a state or Federal support programs or by meeting the Income Poverty Guidelines as defined by the U.S. Government. SAFELINK WIRELESS® service is limited to one person per household

For those of you who already have a Safelink cell phone, remember to leave the phone on the first 3 days of the month so that you get your minutes – and if you forget to leave your phone on, your minutes are there waiting for you - to retrieve them to your phone, follow these simple steps...

You may retrieve your Monthly Minutes by following these instructions:
1. Press the MENU key.
2. "Prepaid" will be displayed across your screen.
3. Press OK or SELECT.
4. Go to "Redeem Airtime" or “Add Airtime."
5. Press OK or SELECT.
6. If your screen displays a message, go down and press OK until you see “Card #” or “Airtime PIN.”
7. Enter 555 and press OK.
8. If you are prompted for a promo code, press NO.

You will receive your Minutes shortly.

What is an IP address?

We hear the expression all the time - but maybe you aren't quite sure what it is.

The IP address is your computer “internet protocol” address. The IP address is a 4-part electronic Serial number, such as: 201.2.312.66 – and you notice that each of the four parts or sections are separated with “.” a period...

Every computer, cell phone, ipad, smartphone etc. are assigned at least one IP address and no two devices in the world have the same IP address. These IP addresses are assigned for tracking and accountability/identification purposes.

Whenever we are on the internet or using cell services and make a connection, the IP address acts very much like the tags on our cars, to enforce accountability and traceability.

Sharing Photos Safely on the Internet

Today more and more of us are sharing our photo’s with others online. This can be done today using our digital cameras and cell phones as soon as the events happen.. No doubt, these options are another wonderful way of using technology but it’s important to be sure you are sharing your photos safely..

Almost all cell phones today have cameras, and because most of us carry our cell phones with us all the time - and the quality of the cell phones cameras have and continue to improve almost daily - they are becoming a popular way to post photos as soon as we take the picture...We may post them to our online photo-sharing accounts (such as Picasa Web Albums, Walgreens, Snapfish, PhotoBucket etc accounts, our blogs, mobile blogs (called moblogs); personal Web sites; or share them via our e-mails and IM - no doubt sharing our photos and videos has never been easier.

But it’s important to carefully manage who sees your digital images, from photos to videos, is critical to avoiding the potential exposure of private or personal information to people outside your trusted friends and family. The same pictures and videos you want to share with friends and family may contain information that also has value to criminals.

Only use reputable sites (such as Picasa Web Albums, Walgreens, Shutterfly, Snapfish and others we’ve discussed in class) and only share photos that contain identifiable information with people you trust.

To make photos with identifiable information safer to share publicly:

• Use a photo editing tool such as Picasa that we work with in our classes, or Windows Photo Gallery to cover up or crop out information that could put you or the people in your photos in harms way, such as house or apt. numbers, street names, name of your school or business, etc – Photo Editing sites allow you to blur small sections of your photos, so you can then put them online safely.


• Remove metadata from the photo. Some sites allow viewers to see the settings used to take the photo, the time and date when the photo was taken, and even show the geographical coordinates of the place where the photo was taken if the camera or camera phone documents this information. The last thing you want "just anyone" being able to see is the actual address of your home, school or day care center when you took pictures of your kids or grandkids...


• Change/reduce the resolution of the photo – because lower resolution makes it less likely that others will copy the photo.

What is a smartphone?

We are all hearing the phrase “smartphone” – but how is a “smartphone” different from a cell phone?

Typical cell phones allows us to make and receive telephone calls; text messages and to take, send and receive photos and videos…

Smartphones offer greater functionality than regular cell phones, so that you can...

• use a full “qwerty” keyboards for easier typing
• have access to the Internet to access your email, Facebook and Twitter accounts
• work with all your Office documents, such as word & excel,
• sync data with personal and business computers
• send & receive instant messages
• play music
• show streaming video
• edit photos
• get driving directions from the GPS
• play countless games and
• work with hundreds of other “applications referred to as “apps”

All of this is in addition to making phone calls of course.. And many of the smartphones have touch screens..

Smartphones are actually mini-computers with an OS-Operating system (such as the BlackBerry OS; Palm OS or Windows Mobile OS); Smartphones have internet access so that you can download countless applications, including GPS systems, you can link to your social networking & email accounts; many smartphones give you the ability to not only take photos but edit them; you can view, update & edit Office documents and they can be synchronized with your computer for all the updates you make, as well as synchronizing your address book, calendar and tasks list quickly and easily – similar to what a PDA used to do – only faster and more easily… And of course the applications allow you access, via the internet, to hundreds of games, music, video and other sites…

This, like all other computer related technology, is changing almost daily so no doubt, as soon as you buy a new “smartphone” it’s going to be outdated and topped with a newer version with more bells & whistles… leaving us all to wonder where it will end…

Skype - Version 5

With Skype you can make free video & voice calls over the Internet to other people anywhere in the world on Skype for as long as you like, wherever you like. Some features of Skype include free Skype-to-Skype calls, free video skype to skype calls, conference calls, instant messaging, SMS messaging and the ability to forward all calls to your mobile phone when you're offline. Skype to Skype is totally free.

Skypes “free software” must be downloaded on the computer you are using, to use Skype to make free calls or video calls.

The newest version of Skype is their 5.0 version, and the main feature that I can see is allowing group video calls. I've used Skype for more than 6 years but originally it was just a voice service for free calls from one computer to another..

We are also seeing that Skype and Facebook are working together so if friends and family have Facebook, you can make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send them “text” messages to their cell phones.

To download skype or check them out, go to www.skype.com

Skype was launched in August 2003 and it’s reported that Skype has almost 15% of the international voice market and 40+% of the video call market – so they seem to be doing something right. On Skypes Blog, they’ve stated that the word Skype is a Chuvash word ... meaning "The whole world can talk for free"

HOW TO GET PHOTOS FROM YOUR CELL PHONE TO YOUR COMPUTER..

You’ve taken photos or videos with your cell phone, but how can you get them to your computer so you can print or email them… There are several ways, depending on the type and model of your cell phone – use one of the following tips or check your cell phone manufacturer’s website for their tutorial instructions for your specific cell phone..

CABLE FROM CELL PHONE TO COMPUTER: Some phones, come with cables that have a connection for the phone and the other end has a USB port connection – if you phone has this, you will copy and paste the photo’s from your cell phone to your computer, the same as you would from a flash drive/memory card to your computer.. For example, if you have a Motorola phone you can use a tool called Motorola Phone Tools-It isn't free but comes with a USB cable you can directly connect to the computer

FOR CELL PHONES WITH TEXTING CAPABILITIES: Then you can simply “email the photo’s to yourself or anyone else with an email address” just like a text message; instead of a phone number you would send it to the “email address”

FOR CELL PHONES WITH MEMORY CARDS: Before you take pictures with your cell phone, be sure you have a memory card in the slot and that your camera setting is set to save all photos & videos that you take, and other information you’d like, to the memory card. Refer to your user manual to make sure you buy the right kind of memory card for your cell phone If your cell phone didn’t come with one. Common cell phone memory card formats include: TransFlash MicroSD, MiniSD, Sony MemoryStick but, the most popular is MicroSD (remember "MiniSD" and "MicroSD" are not the same kind of cards)..

Small memory cards require a larger adapter to insert in a computer memory card reader.
Once your small memory card is in the adapter, insert the memory card adapter into a memory card reader or into your laptop/computer/printer’s built in memory card reader..

Now it is ready to be “read” - Open Windows Explorer (Windows Flag Key & E), you will then see your memory card with an assigned drive letter – typically E or F. When you left click on that drive, look to the right side of the screen and you will see the photos and or all information on the memory card.

1. Highlight the photos you want to put on the computer
2. Choose COPY
3. Now go to or create a new folder for the picture
4. Once you are in the correct folder, choose PASTE

Your photos are now on your computer in the folder you have chosen or created…

HOW TO KEEP YOUR MONITOR AND KEYBOARD CLEAN

First-turn the computer off before cleaning the monitor or keyboard…

Monitor ~ The new LCD flat screen monitors/TV should be cleaned with a micro-fiber cloth and water or solution designed for them-Most manufacturers recommend never using products that contain ANY alcohol, ammonia, or other strong solvents on LCD & Plasma screens.

Keyboard ~ First, turn the keyboard upside down and tap it gently to release any crumbs, dust, pet hair; Then versus paying for a can of compressed air, I use the cool setting on a hair dryer after I’ve tapped the keyboard ~ Be careful what you use to wipe it down. Electronic items usually come coated with a very fine film of glossy finish and this material can be damaged by harsh cleaners, especially ones that contain ammonia compounds or alcohol

Mouse & Phones ~ Especially this time of year (winter) I use alcohol wipes on my mouse and all phones at the office, at home and my cell phone; especially if and when the grandkids are around….

Tips for Texting, Emailing & Cell Phones

Tips for better online and cell phone behavior (etiquette)

• Try not to use email to address problems better handled face to face – shows your maturity and respect for the other person
• Email is wonderful – but picking up the phone for a real conversation is always a better option to enhance any relationship – personal or business
• Read & reread your email messages before hitting the send button – to check for spelling & grammatical errors, but just as importantly to be watchful of the tone – emails make it to easy to misread between the lines, so always be polite and respectful
• Email, especially business related, should always be professional – not cutesy or too casual
• Be sure to respect & protect others email addresses – whenever possible – put addresses in the BCC line so that email addresses aren't’ publicized.
• Always remove others email addresses when forwarding stories or jokes.. you never know where they will end up.. (remove the FW or FWD from the subject line)
• Put something in the subject line - even 1 or 2 words (directions, hello, estimate, questions) will help the receipient know what is is and if it needs to be addressed now or later
• This is very true for business emails: don't respond to e-mail immediately – it’s too easy to hit the reply button after a quick response, but the downsides to this is you may appear to be constantly reachable to colleagues, too eager to clients or upper management so unless it’s urgent, wait a few hours and be sure you’ve thought about your response and are focused on the task at hand.
• Make sure your email messages have a purpose…
• Never TYPE IN ALL UPPERCASE. Uppercase implies that you are SHOUTING.
• By the same token, you don’t want to use all lower case letters, especially in professional e-mails. Some say that writing in all lowercase appears you don't have enough respect for your recipient to use proper capitalization.
• You should never be too busy to use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation in your e-mails (although using incomplete sentences and lists for explanation is acceptable).
• Whenever you send professional emails – whether those are to your vendors, customers, clients, organization members - use their formal titles followed by their last name unless they invite you to use their first name – remember – show respect.
• Return calls in a timely manner – ideally always within twenty-four hours whenever possible.
• Leaving a voice mail message – it helps to give your number at both the beginning and end of the message and tell them when it’s convenient for them to return your call "I’ll be home this evening" or "back in the office after 2"
• Using your cell phone – be respectful of those around you especially try not to scream into your cell phone. Cell phone speakers are very sensitive and can transmit your slightest whisper – those around us aren’t interested in our conversations…
• When you are with someone at dinner – in a meeting – at an event – give them your full attention; most people find it rude & disrespectful to have those they are with texting, accepting/making cell phone calls and the like - if they are important enough to be with, then they are important enough to have your full attention...
• When you are in public settings - restaurants, places of worship, social gatherings-work & pleasure, turn your cell phone off or put it on vibrate so as not to disturb those around you-need to take the call - then take it outside!
• Technology is wonderful, but it sure can be annoying...

CAN YOU SEND CELL PHONE TEXT MESSAGE FROM YOUR COMPUTER?

Absolutely – many of us don’t have “text” ability on our cell phones or if we do, we don’t know how to text..

But you can send a text message to anyone who uses “texting” as long as you have their cell phone number. There are several websites – all are free – that offer us the ability to send family and friends text messages to their phones.
Here is how they work...

• You type in the persons cell phone number
• Now type in your email address
• Now type in your message (actually it is a tweet because it has a 140 character limit and counts down as you type so you know what you have left) or they have lots of “quick messages to choose from so you don’t have to type”
• You're done, so now click on the SEND button..

The message appears as a text on their cell phone and if and when they respond, their message will come back to your email account…
Again these services are free – like email it’s their advertising that allows them to stay free. Most of these services also offer you the ability to set-up a free account, which will then confidentially save the cell phone numbers you send to and save your email address so you don’t have to type them in every time - very much like your address book in email..
So give it a try and start texting/tweeting – it’s all free!!!
www.textem.net
www.txt2day.com
www.text4free.net
www.onlinetextmessage.com