The following MyAnswers solution 2244 is now available:
I'm taking holidays and travelling overseas. I receive faxes regularly. Is there a way I can receive the faxes whilst overseas using my computer?
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Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)
The following MyAnswers solution 2245 is now available:
A person I know lost their Applie iPod Touch. They think it may have been on a flight from Brisbane to Melbourne or the taxi. The question is, "can Apple locate an iPod Touch device given its serial number ccqdc38xdcpc?" I'll follow this up with Apple support.
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Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)
I used to be a diehard Nokia buyer. If it wasn’t a Nokia I wasn’t interested. But then Nokia started to fall out of favour. I found once I strayed from the hardware and wanted to use software on my computer I wasn’t happy. I purchased a cable kit and all it came with was a box and a cable. No software and if I recall correctly, no instructions. For the price I was very disappointed.
Fast forward and last year Nokia released their Smart Phone with Windows Phone 7 around September, if I recall correctly. I waited and waited. Towards the end of 2011 Nokia was heavily promoting their non-Windows phone in Australia on shows like Celebrity Apprentice and still not releasing a Windows Phone 7 product in Australia. It was well into 2012 before Nokia decided to release a Windows Phone 7 mobile in Australia.
It almost felt like we’d Australia had become a secondary market. If you read articles the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China, India) group of nations is where the focus appears to be. Australia, we’ll get to you when we’re ready.
I tested Windows Phone 7 and found three simple tests with the browser that failed. To me Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 was not good enough for what I want. The issues I have relate to web page layout, location and transferring content to the internet.
Windows Phone 7.5 was released and the location information was fixed but the layout and transfer issues remained. Transferring content using the browser is still an issue with most mobile devices.
Now just few months after Nokia released their devices in Australia we find existing handsets won’t be compatible with Windows Phone 8. WOW. Talk about quick obsolescence. How could Microsoft bring out software that in less than a year would obsolete their leading hardware partner’s devices!
When Nokia and Microsoft bring out a mobile phone which is so quickly obsolete, and Nokia places Australia down the list in terms of worldwide priorities, it will take a lot for me to have confidence in them again.
Once a Windows 8 Phone is released I’ll again do my three tests. I’m hoping Nokia also reconsiders their timing with their Australian release. If the Nokia/Microsoft partnership continues to treat Australians as a secondary market they’re unlikely to gain market share in Australia.
The world has certainly changed since I considered Nokia and Microsoft as preferred suppliers of choice. That’s a good thing because Nokia and Microsoft now have to work harder to appeal to customers and can’t afford to rest on their laurels.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
As an IT consultant I also have a background in development. It is relatively easy to write a simple web application which can be added to a site on the internet. One such example is the Energy Cost Calculator. I wrote this application for myself when I was replacing normal lights with low energy lights and also to help determine the cost of running appliances around the home, with the aim of reducing electricity usage.
The end result is we now use around 6.5kWh per day with a saving of around 60% off our electricity usage bill.
I added the Energy Cost Calculator to my site to help others. It is also an example of a simple web app which clients can review and to decide if a calculator relating to their business could also be added to their site to help their clients.
If you’d like a relatively simple web app written for your site give me a call on 0415 910 703.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
The following MyAnswers solution 2243 is now available:
Should I remove Java off my computer? I've read there is a serious exposure at the moment.
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Kelvin Eldridge
www.MyAnswers.biz
(An Online Connections service.)
Yesterday I attended a client. They were concerned their screen had changed and perhaps they had done something wrong. They were notified of an update for Flash which they installed. The problem is the update also installed Google’s toolbar which they didn’t expect.
I consider the packaging of software from other companies such as Adobe does with Google products to be a mistake by Adobe. All you need to do is to start confusing users and people will ask, “do I really need this software on my computer?”, which is the question I am now faced with. At that point Adobe starts to lose customers and that is a bad business decision.
I checked my logs for one of my sites (which is mostly Australian users) and based on the statistics, around 18% of people access my site don’t have Flash installed. With Apple’s anti-Flash stance, mobile devices and tablets now generally don’t support Flash.
Until now I would have said keep Flash installed. However this week installing the Flash update myself I found by default the Flash update would have installed Google Chrome. If you don’t want to install Google Chrome you need to take action to deselect the option and a lot of people don’t read the additional information on the screen. A day later a client is confused as a result of the Flash update installing other software. People shouldn’t be confused as a result of an update. In some cases because of the confusion the update is costing people real money because they require support. Support to remove software they didn’t want or need.
In the near future I suspect people will start to remove Flash by default. That way there will be one less update they get prompted for and an update which is now updating their system with unwanted software. I’m going to remove Flash from my system for use with Internet Explorer and see what the impact is. You remove the software via Control Panel. There is often two versions of Flash installed. Adobe Flash Player Plugin and Adobe Flash Player ActiveX. The ActiveX version is for Internet Explorer. The Plugin version is for other browsers.
Remove the ActiveX version and Flash will be removed from Internet Explorer. As a backup you may wish to have a second browser installed (for example Opera) just in case you wish to view pages that require Flash.
If you find you can’t live without Flash, then you can go to the Adobe site and reinstall Flash.
If you go to a page which requires Flash you’ll get prompted to install Flash. So you don’t keep getting nagged every time you visit a page you can select additional options and select the option “Never install software from Adobe Systems Incorporate”.
Longer term however it would appear Flash will have a limited life. The problem is people now regularly use both mobile and desktop versions of browsers. Mobile use is increasing and mobile devices don’t generally support Flash. Adobe have stated they won’t be support mobile versions of Flash. A business with Flash on their web site means already over 18% of potential Australian users can’t use their site as designed and this number is increasing.
If you have a site designed using Flash, then you may wish to consider redesigning the site to remove Flash. Not catering for 18% of potential users is a bad business decision and this number is only going to grow. Tourism sites in particular should move quickly. I’ve already been impacted by tourism sites and when mobile if you can’t access a business’ site, you’ll pick another business to use.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 if you require computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
Today when I started the computer I received the usual Adobe Flash update. What I thought was unusual is Internet Explorer opened and took me to the page to download Adobe Flash. Normally people will click on the download and install the update. Next time you get this type of update, pause for a moment and read the screen.
The problem is companies like Adobe not only install their software, but they also install other company’s software. In this case if you just accepted the install, you’d also end up installing the Google Chrome browser.
I regularly visit clients who have installed software and toolbars without knowing how they did it. Earlier versions of Google toolbars for example caused issues with using a Google search designed for American users and not Australian users, so people would get results they didn’t expect. The pop-up blocker on the Google toolbar would cause sites not to work resulting in a technical support call. Earlier versions of Google Chrome also damaged links in Outlook emails so there is good reason to be careful with the software you install as a result of a free download.
Adobe gets paid by Google to trick people to install software they don’t realise they’re installing and people then end up with software on their computer they may not want or need. The software industry is full of this type of trickery and unfortunately for the average user, it ends up slowing their computer down, confusing them, and often resulting in an unnecessary support call.
Next time you get the option to install software from the internet, make sure you read the information on the screen. Deselect any options presented that you don’t want. Most computers I see have been “infected” with legitimate software which can cause the computer to operate in an unexpected way. Free software often comes at a price, you just need to find out what the real price is and make sure you know what you are receiving. If you’re receiving free software or a free service then keep in mind you aren’t the customer. The customer is the organisation paying the money and that often means your interests aren’t being given the top priority.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.
