Give the Gift of I.T.

Give the Gift of I.T.

Everything I.T.’s gift certificates make the perfect Christmas (or other occassion) gift for the person that is difficult to buy for, because they can be used for so many different things. If the recipient is non-technical, they can be used to set up email, for computer tutoring or training, or for remote technical assistance if they get in a jam they just can’t resolve on their own. It can be used for a computer repair, for home or business. For the more technical person, it can be used for computer hardware upgrades (for your favorite gamer) like graphic cards, hard drives, extra memory, or whatever. It can use used to help them get that website going that they know they need but haven’t been able to afford, or if they already have one, they can get upgrades to it, or even an annual maintenance contract. The best part is, …you don’t have to choose. You just chip in, purchase the gift certificate, and let them use it however they want! It’s perfect really…There are very few people who can’t find some use for it. You can purchase the gift certificate for any amount you choose, from $35 and up. ($35.00 is still the minimum 1 hour rate for any job) It’s perfect for young and old alike. I tutor students, and work with seniors, I’m very patient, and can help anyone who needs it to adapt to the technical era. Get one today!


AMOUNT (add quantity later)
Name of recipient
Recipient Mailing Address



Don’t Update Windows 10 Right Now

Don’t Update Windows 10 Right Now

WARNING! HOLD OFF ON UPDATING WINDOWS 10 RIGHT NOW (APR/MAY 2018) !!

I’m advising people to postpone updating Windows 10 to the April 1803 update. It is crashing a LOT of machines …and doing it in such a way that they are not recoverable apart from reinstalling Windows. Make sure all your documents are backed up, and if you have backup software make sure you have an image of your hard drive. If you want to know what build you have click on Settings gear icon by the bottom of the start menu, and type UPDATE in the search box at the top, and pull up the Windows Update settings page. Then look for the link that says “build info” , …should look like this:

Windows 10 Windows Update

After that, you should have this page:

Windows 10 Build Info

If it still says 1709 you are good. If it says 1803 and your machine didn’t crash, EVEN BETTER!! 🙂 But if it says 1709, you may want to pause your updates for a while. Or at least make sure you have really good backups. …and if the worst already happened, give us a call. We can rebuilt it for you! 🙂 (and my sincerest sympathies to you) 

EVERYTHING I.T.

(805) 253-2034

What is a CPE?

Ok, I had a potential client call me this morning, and ask me if was familiar with 5ghz CPE. I wasn’t at home or near computer when she called, and as soon as I indicated I didn’t have 100% knowledge on the subject she hung up. Big mistake on her part. Folks, it’s a COMMON marketing ploy to take an age old technology, wrap it in a new box (i.e.: …give it a new name) and hope that the general public is dumb enough not to recognize it and pay the 250% markup they are hoping to get on it. I get so tired of it really. It started with “THE CLOUD” …remember when that term was new? How many of you were, or maybe still are, confused the “The Cloud” …big clue…the “CLOUD” …is just another term for the internet, and internet related products and services. Stuff stored “in the cloud” …is not all that mysterious. This is only 2018 and everything has a PHYSICAL location. Someone, somewhere, has a data center, and you connect to it through the internet, and that’s the cloud.

OK, so back the CPE thing: CPE stands for “CUSTOMER PREMISES EQUIPMENT” …it’s equipment, owned by your internet (or other) service provider, and located on your premises. Pretty lame huh? Basically, a 5Ghz CPE is a “mysterious” nomenclature for a N-band router. (even more lame now that you know, right?) …oh, not just any router, a router owned by your service provider, located on a customer’s premises. I rolled over laughing hysterically when I looked this up ….and I see that the term is actually being used more and more often now. Like this one I saw at on a Fry’s electronics ad today: https://www.frys.com/product/9226939?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG …it’s an outdoor wifi repeater/range extender/switch unit thingy that sends the wifi signal from your house (indoors) …to your outdoors area. I guess you must have to have a very big house to need one of these, because my standard router sends a signal that I can reach out in my carport, and a good 500 yards away from my door. (or more, I never actually measured it as I drove away, but I would not have a need for this device)

If you want some info on the 5Ghz signal (wifi) …this is a pretty good page: https://www.howtogeek.com/222249/whats-the-difference-between-2.4-ghz-and-5-ghz-wi-fi-and-which-should-you-use/

Do you think I’m making this up? I’m seriously not. Read here: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/CPE-device

Intel Processor Vulnerability to slow down all Intel PCs as much as 30%

This is huge…if you have ever followed updates you know that the kernel often has holes plugged, but apparently this vulnerability is huge. Clearly to properly fix a hardware vulnerability properly requires a hardware upgrade. But operating system updates can address it. But the kernel is addressed so frequently that this type of fix will significantly slow down all computers. This new vulnerability, which is being kept hush-hush until it’s all been patched, affects ALL computers and laptops with Intel processors, whether they are Windows, Mac, or Linux based. Yes, that’s right…since Apple always has what has previously been the best hardware, they are also affected on this one. This vulnerability affects all Intel-based PC’s going back 10 years. I’ve read in some places that some newest processors may not be as affected “quite” as much, i.e. the slowdown won’t be as dramatic, but they are all affected. This is a sad day. I know I’m sad. I can’t afford to upgrade hardware, I just built my current rig about a year ago. Upgrading a processor usually requires a new motherboard also, unless you just got one maybe. Anyway, if you look on the web, you will see many articles on this subject, all them current news. I’ll give you some for some reading if you are concerned. Even though the specifics of the vulnerability won’t be released until the patch is out, they have said that it’s a memory leak…so basically it would give hackers the ability to read data, but not to write, delete, or modify it. (whatever comfort that may be) …I’m wondering if simple encryption helps in this case. ??? What say you?

Tech Republic

PC World

Tech Crunch

PC Word gets Intel’s Response to the news

Holiday Days and Hours Update

Holiday Days and Hours Update

The office will be closed from December 22nd until Jan 2nd, although I could be available as early as December 30th. Leaving town for Christmas. Although ALL remote services will still be available. I’m just not taking any jobs that require me “physically” being there, or any equipment/laptop drop-offs. I will however have a computer with me, and will answer all emails and texts, and will be able to perform any remote services, like Windows issues, Website issues, etc. …any of the things I would normally do remotely. So please don’t hesitate to call just because the hours say closed, there was no field to add an explanation on Yelp or Facebook. 

FROM EVERYTHING I.T.!

Website Technology Changes for Video Playback, Important!

If you have a website, or you are involved in web development, you know that things are constantly changing, right? Do you remember not too long ago before HTML 5 and CSS 3 came out and brought along all the wonderful responsive website technology that made things so nice for cell phones and tablets? Do you remember that once upon a time, we had to have a .mobile TLD (top level domain) for your URL so you could have an entire separate website for cell phones? And then came along HTML5 and CSS3 and all this wonderful new stuff that removed the scroll bar from the bottom of the webpage, and now things just AUTOMATICALLY resize depending on screen size? It seems like ages ago, but really it wasn’t that many years ago. Things change rapidly when it comes to internet technology. Sometimes, for those of us who work in it, it’s difficult to keep up with.

Anyway, today I have some information about the WebKit engine. WebKit engine is the technology used for Safari browsers, and the Kindle browser. (why can’t they just use the same HTML as everyone else, right?) Anyway, there are some new changes that have to do how AUTOPLAY on videos works. So if you have video on your website, you are probably going to want to study this issue. I have read that the changes that Apple made, Chrome will also be making in early 2018. The main thing is that AUDIO will not autoplay any more. If you want sound, you have to have controls enabled. Only videos without sound will autoplay. If you want to read about the OSX and iOS Webkit changes, you can read about them here: https://webkit.org/blog/7734/auto-play-policy-changes-for-macos/