Amazon Echo

I have just used an Amazon Echo device for the first time. IT IS JUST AMAZING!!!!. I had a customer who couldn’t get it connected to her home wifi network, and after she had called in 2 ‘experts’ who had tried and failed, I went and after a bit of a struggle I got it connected. And WOW, it’s fantastic.

For the uninitiated, it’s a standalone device, which works on voice commands, much like Apple’s Siri service. You can simply ask it any question and get the answer instantly. For example, if you say ‘Alexa, what time is it, or Alexa what’s the weather forecast for tomorrow’ it will instantly give you the answer.

The prices start from £49.99 for the small, compact Dot model, going up to £149 for the all singing, all dancing model.

Click here for more info: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=echo+dot&sprefix=echo%2Caps%2C203&crid=1BL8FSR6HZD4U

Despite their claims, it’s NOT straightforward to set up, so if you need help getting it connected and working properly, I’d be happy to help.

It’s great as a home entertainment system for playing music, and would also make an unusual gift.

Twin Hard Drives

One of the biggest complaints I get from my customers is that it takes ages to get the computer started from a cold boot up. In some cases with older computers, it can take up to 5 minutes or longer from the time you first switch it on, until you have Google or your email on screen and ready to go. There are loads of reasons for this, but the most likely cause is that your old hard drive is full of stuff which over a period of time, slows it down considerably.

If you are considering buying a new computer then listen up. Many PC manufacturers are now building computers with Twin Hard Drive. One is a new SSD (Solid State Drive), which is a digital drive with no moving parts. The Windows operating system is loaded on this. Therefore it is lightning quick to start up, usually within 15-20 seconds! The second hard drive is a conventional disk, for storing all you files, data, pictures etc. Apple have been doing this for years, which is why they are so much faster than a Windows PC, but now companies such as HP have started to do this.

At the moment, the largest SSD drive available is 256Gb (hopefully that will be increased in the future), so it won’t be necessary to have a second hard drive, the SSD will be large enough to save all your pictures, documents etc.

If you need any help or advice buying a new computer, please call or email me.

Windows Live Mail support ended.

This is for those of you who are still using Windows Live Mail or Windows Mail, for their emails. Microsoft has now stopped supporting WLM, and it is no longer available to be downloaded. If you are still using it and it’s all working well, then you can continue using it. The problem comes if it fails, as it is prone to do. It now can’t be re-installed.

The best alternative is either to use Microsoft Outlook, but that’s not free, as it is part of the Office 365 package, which costs about £50 per year. Or my preferred free alternative is to use Mozilla Thunderbird (from the same people who give you Firefox web browser). It’s really good and in my opinion, much better than Windows Live Mail. You can even (with difficulty) import your WLM folders into Thunderbird.

A word of caution- At some time in the future, your WLM email programme WILL fail. My strong advice is don’t wait for this to happen, take action now.

You're welcome to do it yourself by downloading it from this link: https://www.mozilla.org/en-GB/thunderbird/ OR I can come and do it for you properly. Just call or email me to arrange a convenient time.

Passwords

I have so many problems with customers who forget their numerous passwords, and when they try to enter it, it gives you a nasty message saying your password is wrong. Grrrrrr.

Yes, there are some very good free apps to remember your passwords. My favourite is Roboform, (www.roboform.com) which I’ve been using for years and works very well. Not only will it save your web passwords, but it is also a Form Filler, so it automatically fills in online web forms, with your name, address etc. Try it, it’s really good. If you need any help or advice please call me.

And finally….

Back by popular demand, another amazing 3D stereogram. Can you tell me what the hidden image is. 1^st correct reply wins £10 million.

That’s it for this month, have a great what’s left of the summer. I’m not going away again this summer so I’m here if you need me.