Sunday, December 25, 2011

Stay Tuned!!

Not only will The Monday Morning Memo resume on this site, I will have some tech news, tips and tidbits in addition to some new announcements from time to time!  2012 will be a GREAT year and it will be "Customer Focused!"

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Monday - 10/3/2011

News From The Computer Guy


Pat's Pointers

Welcome to October!!

This past week has been busy, as I was a presenter at the Upper Midwest Social Media Conference in Mason City. It was very nice.

Then, I undertook a job at a motel chain to upgrade software in each of their TVs. Yes, there's SOFTWARE inside of your new TV that tells it what to do. The project has been interesting, as I've had to make sure people are checked out of the room and it is empty, before barging in. I could see that there COULD be an awkward moment if it wasn't. I did get the job done and 44 TVs are upgraded and they seem to be working better.

Ebay is a very popular site for people who are looking at picking up an "odd" or an "end" OR something that is actually useful. I get a newsletter from PayPal who is owned by Ebay and they have the following suggestion on shipping charges...

"Check with the seller to see if they offer combined shipping on multiple purchases. Many will and do offer that and state it on their auction. If you don't happen to see the offer, don't hesitate to ask. The savings can be pretty good and it is also nice to receive all your items together instead of having to wait for multiple mail outs."

Have a fantastic week!

Kirt's Korner

There's always been a fine line between buying a new computer and just fixing up the old one. Right now we are seeing a lot of folks who are opting to just get by, rather than spending more money.

For a minute, let's talk about Computer Memory.

When your Windows XP Computer was all nice and new it may have had the following programs on it:

Internet Explorer 5, Adobe 6, Java 5, and Windows Service Pack 1

NOW, it has Internet Explorer 8, Adobe 10, Java 6.27 and Windows Service Pack 3.

It takes more memory (RAM) to run these programs, PLUS the new printer, newer DVD software, etc than it did before. Many times, an additional 1GB of RAM will take care of the issue. For Vista machines that were sold during a holiday promotion at a Big Box store, the upgrade is a must.

Bring it in and let's talk about your computer memory needs!

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 641-456-1936.
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=n2a4T21kKGY

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Monday - 9/26/2011


News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers


We are just rolling right through the month of September and so far the weather has been great. My biggest complaint is that it gets darker earlier and when I'm out doing house calls, it gets hard for me to see the house numbers. If you do have me come out after hours, help me out and turn on the front porch light -- two weeks ago, I think I startled a lady at 8:30pm, I was at the wrong house!

This brings me to my point this week. Maybe people have asked about classes or tutoring. YES! We are going to have some classes in October -- but, we also offer IN-HOME tutoring. Sure, it's one thing if you have a laptop, you can bring it to the shop for a class, but if you have a desktop it is a bit harder. Taking notes really doesn't work, because after you get home, you forget most of what you took the notes on.

We charge $50 for an hour and a half tutoring session. Personally, about an hour and a half is all a person can take listening to me and working on the computer. We have a broad range of topics, all you need to do is give us a call and either Kirt or I will be out to help you and will try our best to help you learn at your pace. This rate is for our normal 45-mile radius around Hampton.

Our in-shop classes will be $10 per class for the night -- we feel that's a fair price and the class will probably go about 2 hrs, since we will have several taking the class.

Have a fantastic week!


Kirt's Korner

I've mentioned this before, but it is always worth mentioning again, since we've had some calls on it this week.

If someone hacks your email -- such as Yahoo or Hotmail and all of your friends are getting some rather "interesting" messages from you, log back into your computer and change the password. In addition to changing the password, think of a new "secret question" as that may have been changed too.

How did this happen???? Maybe you used a public computer and didn't log out properly, but more than likely you clicked on a link and provided your user ID and password in some sort of Phishing scheme.

Some Phishing schemes are meant to look just as authentic as your actual webmail or bank account info, but do not actually represent them. They are spoofing those sites to get your information. Just something to think about this week!

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=EXj_Cf9EN5s

Monday, September 19, 2011

Monday - 9/19/2011

News From The Computer Guy


Pat's Pointers

We are coasting through another month, farmers are starting to get ready for harvest and fall will be here before we know it.

This has been an interesting week as I traveled to Des Moines this week for the state sponsored Google Seminars that are going to be hosted all over the state. They say that 59% of Iowa businesses are NOT online. This seminar makes it possible for those businesses to get a jump start and learn a few things. It's well worth it when it comes to the area, as it is FREE. These are basic things, for more in depth web creation, contact us at The Computer Guy and we can steer you in the right direction.

Don't forget that this THURSDAY is our FREE App Party at the store. We are partnering with CellTech of Hampton to help you understand Applications for your Iphone or Android. We are going to be "Brand Neutral," so no matter what carrier you are with, stop by. 12:15pm and 6:00pm are the class times and may last about 45 minutes or until all the questions are answered. I bet the guy with the "Bro Stache" will be there!

On September 26th, I'm speaking at The Upper Midwest Social Media Conference to be held in Mason City at the Clarion Inn. Admission is $50 for the day. My topic is "Social Media For Business." I'll cover social media, location based networking, and local searchabilty. Sure, I'll throw in a few jokes, some details and some practical examples. I'll also try to answer as many questions as I can in the 45 - 60 minutes that are slated for me. There will be about 8 speakers for the day, so it will be information packed. Use the coupon code "GROUP" and save $10!

For more info: http://www.uppermidwestSMCon.org

Hope to see you there! Have a fantastic week!


Kirt's Korner

Here's a situation that many parents and public libraries in the area have had us do to prevent either unwanted programs from installing onto their computer, OR they just want to make sure their kids aren't getting into any malware on the home computer.

It's a product called Deep Freeze. What this does is "freezes" an image of the computer on the hard drive, then when the computer is restarted, it goes back to your original configuration. This is handy for libraries, motels, kiosks, or anywhere there is the usage of a public computer. Once you reboot, all changes are erased and you go back to your clean computer.

The program does have a "Thaw Zone" for Windows Updates and other programming changes.

Interested??? Give us a call and we can put your computer in the "Deep Freeze!"

As a reminder, we are open 10 - 6 Monday - Friday and 10-2 on Saturday. You can also just give us a call - 641-456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=rNc_GvBfqPE

Monday, September 12, 2011

Monday - 9/12/2011

News From The Computer Guy


Pat's Pointers

Well, hopefully everyone made it through the weekend. There certainly were of lot of things going on with the remembrance of the 9/11 attacks, the Iowa/Iowa State game and the big 2 county garage sales.

We've had a busy week as school is in full swing. Here's a reminder. If your college student has computer issues while at school, what do they do? Do they take it to the college IT department, a geek in their dorm or some computer repair company in the community in which they live?

Answer -- Remote support from The Computer Guy. We have packages that will fit most any budget and you know that they will be in good hands. Call the shop to get a quote on an as-needed package from The Computer Guy.

On September 26th, I'm speaking at The Upper Midwest Social Media Conference to be held in Mason City at the Clarion Inn. Admission is $50 for the day. My topic is "Social Media For Business." I'll cover social media, location based networking, and local searchabilty. Sure, I'll throw in a few jokes, some details and some practical examples. I'll also try to answer as many questions as I can in the 45 - 60 minutes that are slated for me. There will be about 8 speakers for the day, so it will be information packed. Use the coupon code "GROUP" and save $10!

For more info: http://www.uppermidwestSMCon.org

Hope to see you there! Have a fantastic week!


Kirt's Korner

We are saying a BIG "Hello" to a lot of new readers this week. Every quarter we go through our in-store customer work orders and pull e-mail addresses and add them to our e-mail listing.

If the weekly newsletter isn't for you, just hit the Un-Subscribe button and you'll be taken off the list, no questions asked.

We will be partnering with Cell Tech of Hampton to bring you TWO App Parties on the 22nd of September. Learn more about your mobile phone. (Droid, Iphone, Blackberry and Windows OS) The classes are at 12:15pm and 6:00pm and will last about 45-60 minutes. We'll have some snacks, a lot of fun and carrier neutral so all phone customers are welcome.

As a reminder, we are open 10 - 6 Monday - Friday and 10-2 on Saturday. You can also just give us a call - 641-456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=q_gJi5Hp-dQ

Monday, September 5, 2011

Monday - 9/5/2011

News From The Computer Guy


Pat's Pointers

Happy Labor Day!!

While many of us have the day off, I'd like to thank the folks who are working today. I remember working in radio and it was just normal to go to work on holidays. It's nice to have one of them off once in a while.

We have done some surveying and we will have some results announced in the next couple of weeks, but we are going to be having an "App Party" at our shop on Thursday, September 22nd. CellTech of Hampton and The Computer Guy are teaming up to bring you TWO classes (or parties) about applications for your phones. These will basically focus on Android and I-Phones, but Blackberry and Windows phones will be discussed. It's predicted that after this holiday season, 1 out of every 2 phones will be a "smart" phone. Don't miss out on the FREE classes at The Computer Guy - 12:15pm and 6:00pm on Thursday, September 22nd.

Have a fantastic week!

Kirt's Korner

This past week was very frustrating. Not so much for us at the shop, but for our customers.

Here's what happened. On 2 occasions where we had given advice to people on getting data backups, they chose not to. Naturally, that is their choice. However of the 4 hard drive failures this week, 2 were the people we had advised. One computer was under warranty for another 5 days, so at least their replacement drive was free, but the rest weren't.

With those 4 drive failures, we could salvage data off of only 3 of them. The last drive skipped and stalled and got very hot after some usage. (If you know anything about our data recovery system, we DO put the drives in the freezer and run a USB cable from the freezer to the computer for best results.)

Please, don't be a bad example. We have both on-site and off-site data backup plans. There's one for every budget. One on-line backup solution is from Mozy -- Use the code "SAVEME10" as it is good for 10% off of any subscription until October 1, 2011.

Here's one that we recommend from Mozy!
http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=kcvhmfdab&et=1107425036127&s=1&e=001-1AIjuNWGVU1gZax1S3z4kHbB9Sf6ESZxzjSHPOErb2fvgxPHO4pYD9n5EX7YsemEuCojkZ8upflNYtpFSO_6XRQRtTmSuvZPGJxJbH-qqx_IFrXw4dbN7S3kSqEUGUvaB6DaTOValBsoyV4N5DwLMILTd4mOtwKd2ng82UmXQ0=

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 641-456-1936.



http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=f4k2Q7edMeM

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Monday - 8/29/2011

News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers

I was in Des Moines a few days last week and picked up a few new tips from the various events I attended.

On Wednesday night, I attened an event sponsored by Dwolla. Dwolla is a payment service (similar to PayPal) that can be used directly from your cellphone or computer to pay or get paid. Instead of a percentage of the purchase price for a transaction fee, all transactions are just $0.25. I had a chance to speak with the owner, Ben Milne, as I was doing a stringer report for the North Iowa Today.com.

WHAT IS DWOLLA??

The Computer Guy takes Dwolla as a form of payment, along with PayPal, Credit Cards, your GOOD check, as well as old fashioned cash.

Have a fantastic week!


Kirt's Korner

Many times, we have people ask us about classes they could take to become more computer savvy. Well, we decided to ask you what would interest you!

Stay tuned to The Monday Morning Memo for class details, but in the meantime, if you want individualized instruction, we do offer in-home tutoring. Our basic policy is $50 for around an hour and a half of instruction. This means, write down as many questions as you want and we will come to your home or business and go through them with you. This is done on YOUR computer so you don't have to worry about remembering what was said or done when you get home from a class. You can see immediately what is done and we can show you specific examples of how something will work on your own computer.

We do limit the class to an hour and a half. We have found that anything more than that as both instructor and student have a limit on what is taught or absorbed.

Call and book a time if you need this service. Also, some things can be done quickly via Remote Repair, so if it's an easy/quick fix, just let us know and we can get it done.

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 641-456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=6uWVJcF-tuo

Monday - 8/22/2011

News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers

Well, the Iowa State Fair is in the books for another year. I made my annual pilgrimage on Friday to see the sights!

The Computer Guy would like to welcome readers of The North Iowa Today to our weekly newsletter. Thanks to their staff, we are now linked on their page. For those of you who haven't checked them out, they are online at:

The North Iowa Today

We would like to offer classes this fall at our shop, but we need your help on what to offer. PLEASE take a minute or less, to fill out our survey, especially the new readers of The Monday Morning Memo!

The Computer Guy Class Survey

We need your input. Have a fantastic week!




Kirt's Korner

Well, it's back to school time -- are you ready?? At our house, the kids are all gung-ho now, but that will soon wear off.

With the start of the school year, does your family have an Internet Policy? Does your child have their own computer in their room, or is it in plain view of the parent? Do you check to see what sites your child has been on? Do you have time limits set up as to when they can use the computer?

If you need any help with these items, we'd be glad to help. The safety of your child's online experience is our concern as well as keeping the computer virus free. Let's make this year a great year for our children and keep them safe online!

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=x6fJ2S-dqyI

Monday - 8/15/2011

News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers

Just a reminder, today is the last day (8/15/11) to turn in any Frisbees from the Franklin County Fair Parade. Many great prizes are still available, including the $100 Grand Prize. If you have Frisbee #45, it would be in your best interest to bring it in today. Thanks to all the sponsors who donated prizes.

We would like to offer classes this fall at our shop, but we need your help on what to offer. PLEASE take a minute or less, to fill out our survey.

The Computer Guy Class Survey

We need your input. Have a fantastic week!



Kirt's Korner

If you are looking for a way to turn your computer into a media center, stop by the shop and let me show you how.

We have a refurbished Vizio VT420M TV that is in the shop and for sale that would be a good start to anyone's "man cave" or media center. We could team that up with a custom built Windows 7 computer with a nice sized hard drive or backup drive to hold all of your media -- music or movies. The possibilities are endless!

Stop by or call the shop Monday - Friday from 10am - 6pm or Saturday from 10am - 2pm. Our number is 456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=peHRA7ABcmE

Monday - 8/8/2011

News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers

Well, this summer is going right along, hope everyone's had their fill of sweetcorn and heat! The Iowa State Fair also starts this week, so we know summer vacation is just about wrapped up.

The newest social media tool on the scene is Google+. Many people think it will be the new Facebook, others think it will turn Twitter into a MySpace sort of thing. Anyway, I've hopped on the bandwagon and invite others to also. It's kind of an "invitation only" thing, so if you DO want an invite, please hit REPLY to this email and I will get you an invite so you can see what all the hub-bub is about and you can add me to your "circles."

In September, I'm speaking at The Upper Midwest Social Media Conference to be held in Mason City at the Clarion in. Admission is $50 for the day. My topic is "Social Media For Business." I'll cover social media, location based networking, and local searchabilty. Sure, I'll throw in a few jokes, some details and some practical examples. I'll also try to answer as many questions as I can in the 45 - 60 minutes that are slated for me. There will be about 8 speakers for the day, so it will be information packed.

For more info: http://www.uppermidwestSMCon.org

Hope to see you there! Have a fantastic week!



Kirt's Korner

We've mentioned it before, but thought it would be worth saying again, we do offer a remote "clean up" service that is done in the off-hours so that it does not interrupt your busy day.

Whether you need this monthly or yearly, we do offer packages based on your needs. Just give us a call at the shop and we can set you up. Prices start as low as $16.59 per month.

Also, it seems as though Yahoo Mail has been hit again with some hacking activity. If you get an email back and someone complains of the content, usually sexual in nature, change your password AND secret question. This should take care of it.

As a reminder, we are open 10 - 6 Monday - Friday and 10-2 on Saturday. You can also just give us a call - 641-456-1936.


http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=xnaTl4x2Wvw

Monday - 8/1/2011

News From The Computer Guy

Pat's Pointers

Well, it's August 1st -- a day that both kids and teachers REALLY hate, because soon it will be back to school.

Speaking of school, a number of people have really been interested in classes that could be offered at The Computer Guy. We've had classes before, short classes over the noon hour, but not enough people showed interest in them.

In the next week or so, I'll create a survey so you can tell us what YOU want to know, what times would work for you and on what sort of fee (or free) you'd want to see the price at.

Speaking of that, The Computer Guy is teaming up with CellTech later this year to bring you 2 FREE "App Parties." Get productive with that hand held "phone" and come by and learn a few things from us at The Computer Guy. Look for this in mid-September.

Have a fantastic week!!



Kirt's Korner

I just want to start out and remind people that we still have Fair Parade Frisbee Prizes still available and you have until 8/15/11 to claim them. MANY great prizes are still available.

With Pat on the road many days of the week, I do have a chance to talk to our walk-in customers on a regular basis. Being from out of town, I don't know everyone's name yet -- BUT, I'm learning. I know, it's been 2 years, but I'm still catching on. The main thing is that if I'm not catching your name, it's because my focus is on your computer and getting you back up and running as soon as we can. Our goal is great customer service and taking the time to do things right.

With that being said, if you do have any questions, problems or issues -- give us call first. We are open from 10 - 6 Monday - Friday and 10 - 2 on Saturday.

Our phone number is 641-456-1936.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/The-Monday-Morning-Memo.html?soid=1102913459274&aid=hheaXjTNDTQ