MyAnswers: How can I get missing contacts back in my Gmail account.

The following MyAnswers solution 2385 is now available:

I've noticed some of the my contacts have disappeared in Gmail. This happened after I was tricked by scam email and I entered my Gmail username and password. I've changed the password but how can I get the contacts back.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch Australian release

The Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch has now been announced in Germany at the IFA show and here is quite a reasonable review and summary by Bridget Carey at CNET.

From the review and other articles, the following are points which I find interesting.

Currently the Galaxy Gear will only word with the Galaxy Note 3 and no other Samsung smartphone. This is expected to change once Android 4.3 is released. The main point is keep to note is whether or not the Galaxy Gear will work with your existing Samsung Galaxy device and chances are it won't.

Battery life I consider to be quite short at around 12 hours. The Galaxy Gear requires a special dock, which you need to carry with you if you need to charge the device.

Price is expected to be around $300USD, which I'd consider to be quite dear and restricts the pool of potential buyers. The price in the press release is $299USD but it should be kept in mind in the States sales tax is added to the price and the tax rate varies between states.

 

One feature I thought was novel was "Find My Device" which enables you to set off an audible tone to find either your watch or your smartphone. That's handy for those times where you find yourself patting yourself down to find a misplaced mobile.

A camera lens is placed on the strap which suits wearing the watch face up on the left arm so as to take photos and images when you bring your left arm across in front of you. Worn face down or on the right arm and you may just be limited to selfies. The camera does appear as a bulge on the wrist strap which begs the question as to whether or not it is more likely to get bumped and damaged.

The band is rubberised which may not appeal to everyone. There is a choice of colours for the band.

The watch does appear to be light and fairly compact. Not a large bulky device.

Release date around the world is September 25th, except for Japan and the US, where the release is expect in October. The past has shown us the release date doesn't necessarily correspond to availability, but only time will tell whether that is the case or not.

The watch does have a built in speaker meaning it can be used as a speaker phone. If you think about it this opens up an interesting situation when driving. In fact if I seem recall the driving laws in Australia were changed to effectively limit the touching of a mobile phone whilst driving or stationary (not parked). The smartwatch opens up a new situation. I'm not sure how the law will handle this device since it isn't actually the mobile phone. I find the background noise with a docked mobile can make it difficult to hear. With the smartwatch being much closer, this may in theory improve the quality of calls. It may also make it much harder for law enforcement offices to detect people checking their text messages and Facebook as people are now longer holding an obvious smartphone, but could simply be checking the time on their watch. I only hope people using the device drive safely.

Whilst I may find it hard to justify the cost of the smartwatch, I do look feel a device which would enable me to hear my mobile ringing in a crowded shopping centre and that would assist. I miss so many calls when I'm out because with the older iPhone 3GS I have, I often can be hear the mobile ringing or feel the vibration  when the phone is on my pocket at the shopping centre. I'm not a fan of wearing a watch, but neither am I particularly happy with missing important calls.

I expect by the end of the year, perhaps for the Christmas buying period, we may see quite a few smart watch options.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

PS. Here is a link to the press release.

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MyAnswers: Is participating in BNI Australia (Business NetworksInternational) worthwhile?

The following MyAnswers solution 2384 is now available:

Is participating in BNI Australia (Business NetworksInternational) worthwhile? In this article I share a summary of how much business was generated.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
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Microsoft purchases Nokia devices and services business.

Nokia recently made an announcement they are buying Nokia's mobile business which includes the devices and services part of Nokia, or around half of Nokia.

I should state that for a long time I was a long term user of Nokia products and Microsoft products. Nokia lost me when they first brought out mobiles which could connect to computers before smart phones came onto the scene. The first cable I purchased came with no instructions or disk. You were on your own. Not what I would call customer focused. Microsoft also have focused more on themselves than their customers. In fact Microsoft is about to turn their back on over 100 million customers by not providing support to Windows XP. Again not what I'd call endearing.

With Microsoft doing poorly in the consumer market with mobiles and tablets and Nokia not doing any better, it is hard to see how this will assist Microsoft to gain market share. If anything it will further turn off the original equipment manufacturers which for a long time helped Microsoft build their business.

This move shouldn't be totally unexpected. Microsoft have made it clear they are now a devices and services company and Nokia was already selling 85% of Windows based mobile phones.

Only time will tell if two relatively unsuccessful players (when compared to Apple and Google/Android) in the mobile/tablet arena when joined can make a difference or not.

As an IT consultant and developer, the marriage means tighter integration, more restrictions and less open devices. In the past Microsoft was a company providing open systems where people could more easily adapt those systems for the benefit of their business. Now we are moving (if we haven't already) into the era where you just buy a service or device and use it as is. Very little opportunity for a business to gain a market advantage through the use of technology when the devices and services are the same for everyone.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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Need assistance understanding Windows 8?

This past couple of weeks I've had calls from people who required assistance with Windows 8. Both users were totally lost with the new interface in Windows 8. One user wanted to return their computer to Officeworks, because after two weeks of struggling felt they were getting nowhere. Both users were experienced Windows users. One even spent time reading Windows 8 for dummies and was still none the wiser.

This shows just how badly Microsoft has done with Windows 8. It really is an appalling design change which makes little to no sense for the user. For Microsoft it probably makes sense, but to alienate current users for whatever their goals are, would not generally make sense as a good business move.

The problem is when you first face Windows 8 and go into the Desktop, it is a barren land and nothing is familiar. When I first opened Windows 8 and then wanted to set up a shortcut to the Calculator I was lost and didn't know what to do. I'm an IT Consultant with over 30 years of computing experience and I was lost. Over the coming weeks I adjusted Windows 8 to make it easier to work for me. Dare I say it, but only after a couple of months had I worked out technical solutions to issues that spoilt my experience.  I came up with concepts that would enable me to train others to quickly come up to speed. A few simple concepts is all it takes for people to become comfortable, but the concepts aren't obvious and need to be learnt. I also developed techniques which I can share with users to make their use of Windows 8 more productive, or should I say, as productive as Windows 7 or even Windows XP.

Microsoft in my opinion have shot themselves in the foot (perhaps even both feet), but that doesn't help users. Users will put off upgrading or buying new computers and that will hurt Microsoft and computer suppliers in a big way. Some will consider moving to an Apple Mac because a friend with a Mac will say how good it is, but the reality is the change to a Mac is just as big a change so this isn't the solution. I shudder to think that some may even be coerced by a Linux diehard to try Linux through their frustration, but I'd suggest that is a path best avoided for most people.

I suspect many people will consider keeping their existing computer for longer and purchasing a tablet to do many of the things they previously did with their computer. As long as the computer doesn't die they'll get a much longer period of usage from their computer and that's a good thing.

Ultimately many people will be faced with buying a new Windows 8 computer to do things tablets or their ageing computer can't do. I'd suggest skipping Windows RT because it really is nothing more than a lock-in device, and contrary to the Windows name, shouldn't be consider a compatible device. Going Mac is one path but then you'll lose compatibility if that is required. So Windows 8 is still the answer for most people for the time being. Accept that you may need some assistance to get over the initial learning curve, but once there, you can move on.

If you need assistance coming to terms with your new Windows 8 computer please feel free to contact me.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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Should I donate to open source projects?

I was recently asked by a client who was using open source software whether they should donate to the project or not. For me this was a hard question. My personal desire is to donate, but my experience shows me open source projects generally take the work of others and do not themselves contribute to those who they take from.

For example, I made open source dictionaries available from my site. The work was originally based on the UK dictionary created by others. The direction I received from the open source project was to simply take the work of others that was closest to what I wanted to create. There was really no thought given to assist those whose work I was to use.

The world however has a funny way of paying you back. As I had not considered those I was taking the initial work from, I would soon find others would do the same to me and not give anything back.

I built the Australian dictionary in my own time and provided the dictionary to my clients at not cost to assist them. In hindsight I should have stopped there. Instead I then went on to answer around a thousand emails from open source participants and contributed the work to the OpenOffice.org project. Over the next three years I found I could count on one hand the number of people who contacted me with a word suggestion. All the work to maintain and enhance the dictionary was through my own efforts consuming hundreds of hours.

Then the Firefox project used my work for the basis of their Australian dictionary making a few changes and adding errors to the dictionary. Less than an hours work. The Google Chrome project likewise came along and took my work and incorporated the work into their project and gave nothing back. My open source work now has millions of users and yet I received almost nothing for my efforts.

So now when people ask should they donate the answer is pretty simple. Most open source projects take the work of others and don't give back so why should you. If the projects don't feel inclined to give back to those they take from and don't feel guilty, then neither should you.

That isn't the way I work. I've donated a small amount to the projects I use because it is part of my nature. But the reality is don't let your conditioning determine what you do. Open source projects take what they want, from whomever they want, to give what they want, and that isn't giving back to those they take from. That is just how open source works. Personally I believe in giving back to those who assist me and that isn't how open source works.

So next time you feel guilty for using the software from open source projects without paying for it, don't feel guilty. That's exactly what they are doing and they don't feel guilty at all, so neither should you.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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MyAnswers: Clicking on a link which states "click to see email" doesn't work on one machine.

The following MyAnswers solution 2383 is now available:

I have a link on my web page which states "click to see email" but doesn't work on one computer. I'm using Internet Explorer. On every other computer I use if I click on the link a windows opens with the email address.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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