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Technically Speaking - Helping you survive and thrive in the Digital Age
Hello Friend,
It looks like Apple may have done it again - defined what a whole new device category will be like. Smart watches have been around for several years - Samsung alone sells six models - but most look like something only an engineer would love. Remember the first clunky digital watches!
Some will say the new iPhone 6 merely caught up with Samsung in size but the Apple Watch - it's not called an "iWatch" could be a game changer. For better or for worse, Apple stole a page out of IBM's 1981 playbook when they named the device a "watch". We've suffered for 30 years because IBM named their first PC a "PC". We're still confused today because PC sometimes means Windows machines and increasingly Windows and Mac - to distinguish them from modern mobile tech. How many kids will be disappointed when they ask for a "Watch" and receive a $99 no-name knock off when they really meant Apple Watch!  This link shows the dozens of different Apple watch and band styles available.
The other equally big news was the introduction of ApplePay - a method of paying for something with the Watch or new iPhone. Everyone wants to get into the mobile payment business - think of Square - by making transactions easy, secure and profitable. Since Apple has hundreds of millions of credit cards on file with their iTunes accounts, they have a good start in this rapidly expanding field and they may have solved both convenience and security problems in one blow.
Right now we do not know if there really is a big smart watch market out there - check back in six months!
                               - Gary  (Email me here with questions or comments) 
Quick Quiz
> When was the Internet invented - 1969
> When did most of us learn about it - 1993
> Why the heck did it take so long - The Internet is a collection of connected computers. It took many years for software to evolve that made that network useful for ordinary humans - the World Wide Web of linked pages that we could access from a browser only arrived in the early 1990s - more than twenty years after the Internet!
When was the term "Internet of Things" coined - 1999
When was the first "thing" put on the Internet - early 1980s - a coke machine at Carnegie Mellon Universty!
> Why the heck did it take so long to emerge
- The supporting technology just wasn't there - small, cheap, low powered sensors for all kinds of measurements are now available and we'll see an avalanche of products soon - really soon.
Ransomware is the latest threat to your PC/smartphone/tablet.
It's software that gets installed when you visit the wrong web site or install a bad app. It's more dangerous than most malware since it locks (encrypts) your files and requires you to pay a ransom to have them unlocked or they may just take the money and run. It is real - a good friend found out the hardware. This article gives more insight into this latest threat.
Looking for a really low cost PC?
If you want a really inexpensive PC a cloud based device may work. These machines have typically run Google's Chrome operating system but now there's a Windows version.
This article describes the the new $200 Windows cloud based PC
This article compares the Windows and Chrome versions both made by HP
Cloud storage is plummeting in price and these computers offer it free for the first two years - that's a $50 value at current prices.
It's pretty hard to believe that a big company like HP will survive long in the PC business selling $200 commodity products - likely at a loss up front. Of course these are the same folks that figured out how to sell $3 worth of ink for $40!
Warning - Do your homework because these are not just cheap PCs - they have unique limitations based on the cloud connection.
Picture This - coming next month
Last month's article about preserving photos was very popular so I will follow up next month with the abbreviated version for those of you who want to do the job but don't have time for the process I described previously.

September 2014
Issue 59
Who I am and what I do
My lifetime passion has been explaining technology to non-technical audiences. I've been a programmer, project manager, system designer and independent consultant. I've taught at the high school and university level, published numerous articles and given hundreds of lectures across the US and abroad. In my spare time I volunteer for several social service organizations and enjoy my photography hobby.

How I can help you
I will work with you to develop an educational program suited to your association, business or other group - long or short, basic or advanced. Popular topics include:
• Small group roundtables
• Mobile Tech 101
• Mobile devices in business
• iPad tips and tricks
• Apps, apps and more apps
• Technologies and companies to watch
• Why good cameras take bad pictures
• How things work - from your PC to the Internet

Click here for more information on these topics.


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