This leaves customers with the question “How much data do I need per month?”

Data is an abstract term, and it can be confusing. Just like using electricity in a new house, it may take a few months to discover your usage patterns to see which level of service will be best for you. There are ways you can keep your data use in check, however. Here are a few tips to make sure you are getting the most out of your wireless connection:

Monitor Your Usage

It’s a good idea to keep track of your usage during the month. This gives you an idea of how much you truly use the service, plus may indicate behaviors you want to limit. Most wireless carriers let you see your data usage on their website. TOAST.net allows you to view your usage by logging into My Account on the TOAST.net Start Page.

Avoid Streaming Media

Streaming music and video is obviously very popular, with services like YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and Netflix being some of the most popular services on the Internet. If you’re a streaming addict, you may want to find yourself a free Wi-Fi connection to feed it.  Any streaming service will eat through your data plan faster than you can say “kitten video.”  When using your mobile hotspot, it’s best to avoid these sites.

Use a Web Accelerator

TOAST.net is one of the few wireless companies that offers a Web Accelerator with our service. I have no idea why this practice isn’t more wide-spread, but using an Accelerator while web browsing is a win/win for everyone. Web Accelerators work by directing your traffic through an “acceleration server,” which takes any information you’ve requested from the Internet and squeezes it down to a fraction of its normal size. Once received on your computer, the information is then decompressed and displayed normally. The result is your webpage loads faster…usually a LOT faster, and since you’re downloading less you get more browsing for the buck.

Automatic Updates

This is a sticky subject as there are some good and bad aspects to software that updates automatically. Windows, antivirus software, Adobe products, and other applications are often set to automatically update when a new version is available. These updates patch recently discovered security holes and fix bugs. However, these updates can also be quite large, not to mention slowing down your connection at inconvenient times.

Since you pay for data, you are also in effect paying for these updates to download. It may be best to update your software when you’re on an “unlimited” connection (such as using the WiFi at a library or a coffee shop). You can set Windows to only prompt you when updates are available by doing the following:

1. On the Start menu, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again before installing them on my computer.

You can also turn off automatic updating on other Windows software by adjusting the settings on the little icons on your Tooltray (in the lower right corner of the screen next to the clock).

Now, there’s a ‘gotcha’ to doing this: if there is a security update that is being released, you will be vulnerable to what ever problem is being fixed  until you run that update. If you are going to turn off automatic updates, be sure to install the updates in a timely manner.

Apps and Games

If you are using a tablet with your wireless hotspot, Apps stores can get you into hot water. Some apps are not only gigantic (my son downloaded a Zombie game to his Kindle Fire last week that was nearly 500MB!), apps can also be set to automatically download updates and new features. Be sure to carefully examine the size of any apps you download, and after installation see if they are set to update on their own.

Game sites are in a similar boat. They download “mini-apps” in your web browser each time you visit them. Sites like Pogo or Kongregate can be so data-intensive that you end up blowing through your data plan in a couple of days. Be careful with gaming sites with intensive graphics or ones that require large downloads to operate.

Use Webmail

The majority of people have weened themselves off of email programs like Outlook Express or Windows Mail by now, but there are still some sticklers out there. Webmail is the preferred method of viewing email on a wireless hotspot because all of your email comes in the form of a simple webpage…meaning low data transfers. When you use an email program, there’s a lot of extra requests and authenticating going on in the background, then each message has to be downloaded when you open it. Email programs are much less efficient when trying to conserve data traffic.

Be Realistic

Data plans with TOAST.net start at $25 for 1GB/month. A lot of people switching from dial-up to wireless figure “I only used to use 400MB/month, so 1GB should be fine!” The problem with that logic is wireless is a LOT faster and therefore more convenient to use. When something is convenient, you tend to use it more. Watch your usage patterns and then decide if you are indeed on the correct data plan. If you’re below or only going a tad  over 1GB /month, then that’s fine. If you’re constantly hitting a lot higher than that, a 2GB or 4GB plan may be better suited for you.

1. Residential users: 10GB of email storage is now yours! 

   I remember my first email account. It was sometime in the early 90′s and completely text-based. My mailbox had 2 megabytes of storage available. TOAST.net’s residential email accounts, until recently,  featured 7 Gigabytes of storage. To put that in perspective, I now have 10,853 messages in my Inbox, and am only using 7% of the available space. I’ve learned that it’s just easier to save any mail coming in, and if I need something I can just search for a key word at the top of the mail screen.However, some people need more room because of huge attachments. If you’re one of those people, you’ll be pleased to know that all residential email accounts now feature 10GB of storage space…plenty of room for storing all of those giant PDF’s and funny cat photos!

2. Google Drive: 5GB Free Online Storage!You keep hearing about “cloud computing,” and I realize it’s a pretty abstract term. The concept of the cloud is everything is stored in one place that is accessible from anywhere, that way your information follows you rather than you having to go to it. That’s exactly what Google Drive brings to you. A “virtual hard drive” is now available for you to store documents, files, or whatever you see fit. Documents created in your Gmail account are automatically stored on your Google Drive, and then can be shared with anyone you choose. If you download the optional Desktop utility, you can even synchronize your Microsoft Office documents with Google Drive (this feature is set to replace the current Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office tool. It is not recommended to use them simultaneously).  You can activate your Google Drive access by going to http://drive.google.com. If you have a smartphone, be sure to get the Google Drive app to take full advantage of the new features!
3. Google+ IntegrationIf you started using Google+, you can now directly contact your friends and circles directly from your email screen. Find emails from the people in your Circles, share photos effortlessly, and see what your friends are saying right from your webmail screen.
4. Better SecurityHTTPS encryption is now enabled by default. This keeps your mail secure as it travels between your web browser and the mail servers, so someone can’t intercept your email while using a public wi-fi connection. This is the same method that banks and credit card companies use  to keep online banking safe.
5. New ThemesTired of your boring old email screen? Spice things up with 4 new themes! To change to a new theme, click the “Settings” gear icon in the upper right corner of the webmail screen, then choose “Themes” from the list.
6. New Tasks ListThe often requested Tasks list is now available, letting you make a “to do” list that will also synchronize with your smartphone and Outlook (Business email accounts only). Tasks even integrates with Calendar to let you plan ahead!
7. Drag and Drop LabelsFor easier sorting, you can now drag a label from your Labels list and drop it onto a message. For instance, if you have a label called “Meetings,” and you get an email that schedules a meeting, simply drag the label over and drop it into the body of the message. You’ll actually see a small “Meetings” label bar at the top of the message if successful.  Then, if you want to see your meetings, you can click the “Meetings” label and all of your meeting messages will display.
8. New Fonts!The fonts selection in Google Docs was previously a bit limited. 450 new fonts are now available for use! To add fonts, click on the “Font” menu option, then “Add Font.”
9. *BONUS* Not New, but Hidden FeaturesThe Labs feature of Gmail has a lot of really useful features that many people don’t know exist. To get to Labs, click the “Settings” gear icon in the upper right corner of the webmail screen, then choose “Labs.” Here are a few of my favorite Labs features I like to enable:
   • You can send and receive text messages from Gmail Chat by enabling “SMS (text messaging) in Chat”. If you have a contact with a cell phone number listed, you simply choose that person on the chat list, select “Send SMS”, and type your message.
   • Do you have an itchy clicker finger? If you’re one of those people who always hits the Send button too soon, enable “Undo Send,” and your email message will automatically be recalled.
   • Enable “Background Send” and you won’t have to wait for a message to send before you do anything else.
   • “Google Maps Previews in Mail” automatically gives you a map of any street address found in an email. For instance, if Sally sends you a message saying “Meet me at 123 Main St. at 2pm!”, the message will automatically display a map of 123 Main Street.

Gmail is a constantly evolving product, which makes it the key reason it’s so popular. More updates are on the way, and we’ll keep you updated as they become available.

TechRepublic recently released its poll of phone recommendations in the workplace. While the iPhone has the most marketing muscle behind it, it turns out that Android based phones are enjoying a healthy lead in the workplace. 50% of IT professionals are recommending Android phones to their workers, and with good reason. Android has replaced the struggling Blackberry as the de facto email workhorse. Its ability to easily synchronize multiple accounts from any platform is something users have been looking forward to for years. Coming in second is Apple’s popular iPhone, which is a capable business phone but has a few factors that may limit its appeal in the workplace.

Bringing up the rear are Windows Mobile and Blackberry. Surprisingly, 13% of recommendations are for Windows Mobile 7 phones. Microsoft is struggling to get their new phone platform into the hands of users, and while its mobile operating system is getting high praise, the Nokia phone hardware it’s being featured on is not. What is interesting is Microsoft has only gained about 2% of the phone market, so the fact they scored as highly as they did may be good news for them.

Blackberry was the former king of the smartphone, and is a perfect example of what happens to a company when they don’t keep up with the times. Blackberry used to make mobile email so convenient and addicting that people would call them “Crackberries.” Unfortunately, not showing any innovation for a decade and terrible business decisions have made people jump ship, which leads to a lowly 2% recommendation for the Blackberry platform.

My Recommendations

I myself usually recommend Android phones because they are a natural fit for Google Apps. The growing number of businesses using Google Apps makes smartphone integration very simple. Android’s default Gmail app works great with your Google apps email address: simply enter your email address and password and your email, calendar, and contacts automatically synchronize with your phone. The available larger screens on Android phones makes it easier to work with as well. In fact, there’s a handy little guide right here to walk you through the process.

Apple’s iPhone isn’t a bad choice either. It has a well developed user-base, and can handle your email and contacts, but the calendar function seems to be a bit limited. The  3.7″ screen is also getting a bit cramped these days. I have a lot of users complain about checking multiple email accounts as well…Apple’s email client doesn’t seem to be as robust as its Android counterpart. It’s a good phone, but it doesn’t fit every situation.

Windows phones are in their infancy and it shows. I can’t really recommend Windows Mobile for business at this point because it is severely under-developed. At this stage, Microsoft is trying different strategies to see what works, and right now there’s a lot of things that don’t work. A lack of apps, less than stellar hardware, and a flaky email client are keeping me away from an endorsement, but at least Microsoft recognizes the problems and is working to improve them. It may be a better choice in a year or so when Windows 8 settles in. We’ll have to see what kind of syncing and interplay Microsoft has in store for the platform.

Blackberry: don’t bother. The Blackberry platform as a whole is a one-trick-pony, and that trick is email. Today’s business environment requires so much more. The only reason one would consider a Blackberry is if you are locked into the platform…and if that’s the case it may be time for a change. I fear Blackberry may not survive the next two years much less provide a quality phone anytime soon.

[Source: TechRepublic]

Really fast.

Not so long ago, a new gadget or system that was accepted into the mainstream would hang around for decades. People listened to music from their record players for 70+ years, cassettes for 20 years, CD’s for a bit less than 20 years, MP3′s for ten years, and now we’re on to cloud based streaming as the most popular way to get tunes. It seems the more advanced a technology gets the shorter its lifespan.

This rapid-fire upgrading will become more and more common as we advance. I have two teen-age children right now, and by the time they’re my age, they’re probably going to be looking at these common technologies the same way I look at my VCR:

Cameras and Camcorders

Nobody pulls out photo albums to see pictures of the family last Christmas anymore. Nobody gathers around a TV to watch home movies of your 4-year-old running around a pumpkin patch. Everyone IS looking at these things on the Internet. If there is not an easy way to get your photos or movies to the Internet, people won’t bother looking at them. Both cameras and camcorders are being integrated into smartphones with ever-increasing quality. An all-in-one communications device that takes quality photos, movies, plus allows you to communicate with anyone in the world has a lot more appeal than carrying around a dedicated device, and that puts the writing on the wall for cameras and camcorders.  Soon cameras will only be used by specialists and hobbyists, while everyone else in the world is simply going to use their phone to record their memories.

Landline Phones

The writing is on the wall for landlines. They’ve been sitting underground and on top of poles for around a century, and people are moving on. A 2010 study shows that 25% of all Americans have dropped their landline service and moved to cellphones exclusively. By the time my kids are grown, the landline will be gone for the most part. Cellular phones are portable, more accessible, and serve more function, not to mention cost to phone companies is far less to maintain. Maybe all those copper lines can be repurposed for low voltage electricity to recharge our cell phones?

Wired Internet

There’s one problem with rating cameras like this: What the heck is a megapixel?

Camera manufacturers know that the general public isn’t “techie”. If they start blurting out things like “Our product features a fully adjustable f-stop and aperture range on a 35-430mm lens” their customer’s eyes would glaze over. They needed some kind of rating to say “hey, this camera is better than that one.” The megapixel rating is what they latched onto, and now we have a megapixel war going on with new camera models.

So, what is a megapixel? A pixel is short for “picture element,” and it’s the smallest piece of a photo…essentially a dot. Mega refers to a million, so a megapixel means a camera can take a picture made of 1,000,000 dots. A 10 megapixel camera will take a picture with a resolution of 10,000,000 dots, and so on.

So, the higher the megapixel rating, the better the pictures then, right?

Not necessarily.

The quality of a photo mainly depends on the quality of the lens focusing  light on the CCD (the “digital eye” the camera uses to process photos), and how accurately that CCD is able to translate the colors it sees into a digital image. The problem with high megapixel rated cameras is the pictures files they create are HUGE. A 15MP camera could easily take photos 5-10MB in size each. The first thing people like to do after they go on a photo-shoot rampage is post their work to the Internet, and that’s where the problems begin.

How to Optimize

When you go to a website, you want all the information to pop up fairly quickly. If you were reading a book and had to wait 20-30 seconds for the words on each page to fill in, you wouldn’t bother reading it, would you? The same goes with pictures on the Internet. Huge picture files take a long time to display, and if people have to wait, they’re not going to bother.

So, you have these giant photo files and you want to get them posted on the Internet. What’s the best way to do it?

They're almost done loading...

Before posting any type of photo, you need to optimize it for the Internet…especially if you’re going to use it for a website. As a general rule, I like to keep my photos for websites well under 100K (as opposed to a 5000K, or 5MB directly from the camera). This will involve some simple editing.

Many websites will automatically adjust the size and resolution for Internet use. Some of the more popular free sites like Picresize or ShrinkPictures.com will make your photos more web friendly and allow you to resize as needed.

For more advanced editing, you’ll want to use some photo-editing software. Many cameras come with this type of software, or you can use 3rd party software such as Photoshop Elements.

Windows Vista and 7 actually updated MS Paint and made it a fairly useful editing tool. I use Paint all the time for quick edits and size adjustments. To learn how to adjust your photo files in MS Paint, check out this quick tutorial from Microsoft.

Finally, if you know you are going to be taking pictures to publish to the web, consider cutting down the quality settings on your camera. Some cameras (especially cell phone cameras) have a “web quality” setting that will automatically optimize files sizes for the Internet.

To get an idea of how long a large photo takes to load, check our our Internet Performance Test and choose the “Blue Angels” option under “Test Type”. This test will download a 4MB photo to your computer and calculate how long it takes to complete. Imagine every photo on your website loading like this! Optimize your pictures before placing them on the Internet and say NO to those ridiculous megapixels.

If you have any questions about optimizing your website, feel free to contact our expert Web Design Team. If photos aren’t slowing your site down, we can probably figure out the problem.

As with any new product, there are some questions that frequently come up. I can appreciate someone wanting to be well informed about a product, so here’s a run-down of the most common questions people ask me about wireless:

Q: I live in a rural area. Can I get wireless Internet?

A: Maybe. As a rule of thumb, if you can use a cell phone with no problems, you can typically get wireless Internet. TOAST.net is able to check actual coverage at your location at the time of sign-up.

Q: Your wireless plans allow for 1000MB, 2000MB, and 4000MB of data usage per month. What does that mean?

A: Data is measured in megabytes. For example, a CD can hold 640 megabytes of data and a DVD can hold around 4000 megabytes of data. Every time you browse to a webpage on the Internet, you’re downloading data, and wireless access is charged by the amount of data you transfer per month. A typical person switching from dial-up to WiFi uses 1000-2000MB per month. If you’re a heavy user that likes to watch YouTube or play games, a 4000MB plan might be more appropriate.

Q: Since I have to pay for data usage, how large is a web page?

A: This question doesn’t really have a specific answer. It’s like asking “How many pages are in a book?” It depends on what’s in the book! The same concept applies to websites: the more photos and videos on a website, the larger it will be. TOAST.net is unique in that we offer a Web Accelerator that compresses normal web traffic, meaning if a website is 5MB, the Accelerator may squeeze it down to 3MB and therefore giving you more “bang for the buck”. As a rough estimate, 1000MB of data translates into around 40 hours of web browsing per month.

Q: What happens if I go over my data plan allowance?

A: We try to be as fair as possible about overage charges. If you go over your allotted data usage for the month, you are only charged 4 cents for every MB you go over. This means if you are 100MB over, the extra cost is only $4. If you happen to go way over, you can move to the next highest data plan at any time to avoid any extra fees.

Mini-wireless adapter.

Q: My computer doesn’t have wireless capability, but your MiFi card requires my computer to have wireless to work. How can I add wireless to my computer?

A: Most desktop computers and some older laptops do not have wireless built in. You can easily add wireless capability with a small adapter available from TOAST.net. The adapter runs $29.95 and simply plugs into an available USB port on your computer.

Q: What kind of devices can connect to your MiFi card?

A: Any device with wireless capability can use our MiFi card to get Internet access. The card itself will support up to 5 simultaneous connections. For example, you would be able to connect two laptops, a desktop computer, a tablet, and a wireless printer at the same time. Do keep in mind that the more devices you connect, the more data usage you will incur.

Q: Can I connect my XBox or Netflix device to the MiFi card?

A: In theory, yes…but it would not be cost-effective. Game systems and streaming video services such as Netflix or Amazon Video use large amounts of data. For example, one or two movies on Netflix could use up your entire data plan for the month! TOAST.net recommends a dedicated high-speed connection such as DSL for these types of applications.

That covers the main questions I’ve heard over the last few weeks. I’m really excited about this product because it’s one of those things that everyone can use. I took a day trip this week and happened to bring a MiFi card with me. The hotel I stayed at wanted $25/day to use their wireless Internet…which I was able to avoid. The card paid for itself in one day!

If you have any additional questions, I’ll be happy to answer them for you. In the meantime, if you’re stuck on dial-up or tend to travel a lot, I HIGHLY recommend checking out our high-speed wireless. You’ll be impressed!

TOAST.net Wireless FAQ

Of course, that day has since arrived. In fact, many of us can’t imagine a world where we aren’t able to check Facebook or read the news from our mobile devices. Sales of smartphones even surpassed PC’s last year, making them one of the most popular methods of connecting to the Internet. Mobile Internet is trending so quickly that many businesses are in danger of falling behind if they don’t start re-thinking their mobile strategies.

Desktops Are Getting Dashed

The iPhone arrived in June 2007, and its snowball effect on Internet usage is still shaping things today. This was the first phone that could run applications and display websites as well as a full blown computer, and now an avalanche of Android and Blackberry devices have followed suit.

Before the iPhone’s arrival, over 90% of the Internet connected devices world-wide consisted of Windows PC’s. IT tracking firm Gartner is predicting PC sales for 2012 will be 400 million units, while smartphones are projected to hit the 600 million unit mark. These figures mean only 35% of the new devices connecting to the Internet this year will be running Windows. That’s a heck of a jump in only 5 years!

Things look even worse for PC’s in the next few years: By 2015, Gartner projects PC sales will grow to over 500 million, but tablets increase to 300 million and smartphones will jump to 1.1 billion.

Despite this dramatic shift in the way the Internet is being accessed, Internet content still seems to focus on the computer. Computers will still be the work-horses for workers to develop, build, and create content for some time, but the way users will be primarily consuming your company’s content will be through a mobile device.

How To Prepare

When switching over to a mobile-friendly environment, the first thing you need to do is stop relying on software to communicate. The thought of buying a CD, installing it on a PC, and keeping track of a license key is both outdated and cumbersome. Cloud applications should be the focus. The beauty of using the Internet for your applications is they will work on nearly anything you can connect to the Internet. If you look at common cloud applicationd such as Google Docs, you are able to create a presentation on your office PC, make a quick edit on your smartphone while riding the bus home, use your tablet in bed to go over it before your morning meeting, and then use a PC at your client’s office to bring it up for display. The author has complete control from any location.

Instead of mobile email, think of complete mobile communication.

This same train of thought should be applied to your email system. Most mobile devices can check email from any mail system, but can they actually synchronize with your mail system? Mail systems usually do much more than mail: they keep your contacts list, calendar, task lists, and other features. ALL of these features should be available via mobile. There are many options for implementing this (in some cases, it’s a matter of “Our system does this, but I don’t know how to use it”), so look at the options available and decide if your current mail system is still doing the job. Most offices will agree that email is one of their most important tools, and being able to use its information anywhere is crucial.

Finally, think of your company’s website design. There was a web designing habit of using fancy Flash animations and floating menus over the last few years, and yes…they look great on a PC with a high-speed Internet connection. However mobile users HATE these features. They take forever to load, seldom display properly, or may not even work at all. Consider cleaning up your website, or make a mobile version of your site that focuses on function over form. You don’t want someone coming to your webpage looking to contact you for a sale, only to be frustrated because they can’t navigate to the information they need.

Time To Get Moving

Customers and employees are demanding the freedom to go mobile, but the Internet changes don’t seem to be coming fast enough. I was just reading how users have little patience for slow or bloated websites on mobile connections, and I myself share a lot of their feelings when browsing. If mobile is going to be the top way of accessing the Internet, not preparing is going to tick people off, driving  potential business opportunities to competitors and making your own workforce frustrated.

Solutions to make the mobile jump are often easy and inexpensive to implement. It’s time to take a look at your work environment and make sure you’re prepared for the new way the world is going to interact with you.

Best Buy was a different store back then. They were one of the few places locally where you could buy a decent computer at a (then) decent price. Their flyer was lined with giant beige boxes from Packard Bell, IBM, Gateway, and Compaq…and I would drool profusely over every one of them. A whole market-line of computer specific furniture was created to house these beasts. Dropping $2000 on a computer also required the purchase of a computer desk, a computer chair, a computer desk lamp, a computer storage unit…people would base house purchases on “is there a room big enough for my computer?”

Times have changed…drastically. At one time, people used to choose a desktop computer because it was more powerful and considerably less expensive than a laptop. The explosion of wireless access has created a demand for portability, and now that laptop computers cover all price-ranges, a stationary desktop computer no longer makes sense. So, the question I’m hearing more and more is “I want to get rid of the boat anchor on my desk and replace it with a laptop. What should I get?” The answer depends on a few factors.

Where Will You Be Using It?

Laptops are like shoes. Different styles have different functions. Since laptops are portable, you have to ask yourself “Where will I be using it?” There are 3 categories:

• I want to travel.
• I may travel, but will mostly use it at home/work.
• This thing is sitting on a desk and isn’t moving.

For Travel: If you plan on being a road-warrior with your new laptop, you’re going to want to look for features that are travel-friendly and support power efficiency. Light-weight models with a long-lasting 6 or 8 cell battery and a 13″-14″ screen will be your main focus. I wouldn’t recommend going below 13″ as you’ll start to run into a problem where you have to scroll around a lot to see content on websites…which quickly becomes annoying. Be sure the screen is visible in bright light, and the keyboard isn’t too cramped for touch-typing. I also like to test how long the laptop takes to come back to life if you close the screen without powering down. Closing the screen prompts the laptop to enter “Sleep mode”, and should be ready to wake up within a few seconds of reopening. Also, the lighter the better. Try keeping the weight under 5lbs. or your arms will hate you at the airport.

Light Travel/Home Use: If you’re looking for something for home that will be a “jack-of-all-trades” laptop for the family, or if you’re in an office but only occasionally travel, a mid-range laptop with a 15″-16″ screen will suit you fine. You’ll still want to go for at least a 6 cell battery for home so you don’t have to worry about dragging a charger with you between the couch and bed. Make sure the speakers sound decent…a lot of manufacturers skimp on the sound and there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to hear that funny YouTube cat video posted on Facebook. Weight is not as much of an issue here as you won’t be lugging it around for long distances often, but you’ll want to stay in the  5-7lb. range to be comfortable.

Yeah, I'm thinking I should have went with the 15" instead.

Desktop Replacement: If you don’t plan on moving your laptop (I hesitate to call this class of computer a laptop, because you would need a lap the size of a coffee table to accommodate one), you’ll want to look at a class of computer called a Desktop Replacement. The concept here is to take everything a desktop computer offers: a large screen, a large keyboard, and nice speakers, and put it in a consolidated package that can be easily moved without having to unplug dozens of cables. Desktop replacement laptops will have screens 17″ or larger. Battery life is not a concern as these big guys aren’t really meant to be moved around much. The larger screens are a hit with the older generations, and if you move furniture around, you don’t have to worry about hiring an IT guy to disconnect and reconnect everything. Just don’t think about travelling with one, as they can weigh in at well over 10lbs. (I recently set one up for a relative that weighed 16lbs!).

What About Power?

In the past, all computer owners used to brag about the parts in their computers the same way muscle car owners brag about their cam shafts and brake pads. Today, with the advent of cloud computing, hardware isn’t as much of a factor anymore. It doesn’t take much power to use the Internet, which is why 10 year old computers running Windows XP are still in use. Therefore, when asked “how powerful of a computer should I get?”, I usually respond with “Just about anything off the shelf is adequate.” Here’s a breakdown of the main parts of your laptop and what to look for:

Processor: The “brain” of your laptop, this determines how fast your software is going to work. Processors outpaced the needs of most software used today some time ago, so unless you’re into something that takes a lot of horsepower (graphic design, movie editing, or gaming for example), anything with an Intel i3 processor or higher will be more than adequate. If you’re one of those that does need a bit more power, look for an i5 or and i7 processor.

Hard Drive: This is the main storage area of your laptop…the “bank vault”. As mentioned, cloud computing has changed the needs of computers, and that includes local storage. Since everything is stored on the Internet these days, hard drive space isn’t that critical anymore. A lot  of laptops are coming standard with 320GB hard drives, and that’s more than enough for general needs. If you want some extra performance, consider a model with one of the newer Solid State Drives (SSD’s). These hard drive replacements generally have a smaller capacity (64GB-120GB is common), but they operate several times faster than a standard hard drive. If most of what you do is Internet based, an SSD is a good option.

Memory: This is your laptop’s “work area.” The more memory your laptop has, the more things it can handle at once. 4GB is pretty standard in a new laptop, with some higher end models coming with 8GB. I like having a lot of memory in my laptops…it decreases the chances of something bogging you down. Make sure any model you are considering has at least 4GB installed.

Screen: There are two common types of screens on laptops right now: LCD and LED. LCD is the older technology and uses a fluorescent backlight to brighten up the screen. LED uses (you guessed it) LED’s as a backlight. Of the two, LED’s give better battery life, but don’t always look better. If you’re looking for portability, opt for an LED screen (preferably something with a “matte” coating on it to prevent glare if you’re going to be outside a lot). If portability isn’t a concern, go with whichever screen looks best to your eye. Print should be readable and crisp, not jagged.

Accessory Slots: There should be plenty of slots for accessories on your laptop. At least 3 USB 3.0 slots, and an SD card slot for your digital camera are highly recommended.

Other Goodies: If you can get a laptop with Wireless N included, that’s a plus. Wireless N is the latest wireless standard (replacing Wireless G) and offers better range and stability on wireless connections. A webcam is also not a bad idea, as they’re great for making video calls or taking a quick picture of your surroundings.

Final Thoughts

The drive to portability and the use of wireless connections is making the Internet a more personalized experience for everyone using it. The idea of being able to connect and interact with the world anywhere you go has changed the way we live, and these new devices are the tools we’re using to get the job done. Not everyone is an expert in technology, but knowing the basics will get you through. If you’re thinking about ditching the old desktop dinosaur and going wireless, hopefully this guide points you in the right direction.

The current Calendar changes are cosmetic, so functionality isn’t affected. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s changed:

*	New location for Quick Add Click the down arrow next to the Create button. (Quick Add is available in English only.)

Show/hide calendar sections You can now click the arrow to the left of the mini calendar to collapse or expand it. The My calendars and Other calendars sections work the same way.

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*	Access general calendar options Click the down arrows to the right of My calendars and Other calendars to access settings, create or add calendars, browse interesting calendars, and more.

Access options for individual calendars Hover over an individual calendar, and click the down arrow that appears to access options specific to that calendar, such as selecting the calendar color.

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*	Past events are dimmed Events that occurred in the past are now dimmed on your calendar. You can change this behavior on the General tab of Calendar settings.

Events you can’t edit are striped Events for which you don’t have edit access display with striped lines to help you easily distinguish them from your editable events.

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*	Hover to see event icons Hover over an event to view the associated icons (indicating reminders, private events, and more). The new icon (

Quickly change event colors Click on an event to open its event details, and then click the down arrow to quickly change the color of your event.

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*	Print and Refresh Click the new Print and Refresh buttons at the top right of your calendar. These buttons now have icon labels instead of text.

  

Google runs a LOT of popular services. Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube…all of these have millions (even billions!) of users. The problem is each service requires a separate account. You needed to sign up every time you wanted to use a different service, meaning each service required its own username, password, and set of terms and privacy conditions.

Last week, Google decided to fix this problem by integrating account information over all of their services. Google outlined the changes in a blog post, saying settings and information used on one service can now be used on all other services. Many people, especially businesses using Google Apps, have been wishing for this for years. The benefits being:

• Privacy policies easier to read.
• Sharing data across products makes for a better user experience.
• Services integrate seamlessly , making them more convenient to use.

So, Google’s privacy changes now say “We have this information you gave us, and it’s going to apply it to all of our services.” Users will have a single login for email, the Marketplace, YouTube, Google Music, and any other Google service. Settings and preferences will automatically migrate over as your same account information is used on every service.

We’ve all become paranoid over privacy changes due to other services such as Facebook getting a reputation for mishandling information, but I actually see this change as a positive thing. Other large companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and others have done this for years. For instance, with Microsoft, I have a single account I use to log into their Support areas, Software Development areas, and even their XBox and Zune music service.  Google is shaping itself in the same way, but the fact they came together in a piecemeal fashion (many parts of Google were acquired through purchases rather than internal development), integration proved to be more difficult.

Note that TOAST.net’s privacy policies regarding customer information have not changed.

For Google’s updated privacy policy (effective March 1st, 2012), click here.

For TOAST.net’s Terms and Conditions, click here.